Perth rental market - Is it really that bad?

[200bhp]

I saw an article today via a rental agent's facebook page saying that most rental properties get 20-30 viewers all looking around the place at once and the chances of getting a place are reducing all the time.

Is it really that bad over there at the moment?

We've booked holiday accommodation for the first 4 weeks of September but in that time we'll need to find a more permanent rental. The holiday accommodation is a hefty $700 per week.

[djt77]

It's not quite that bad but it is very busy, depends what areas you looking at, drop me pm if you want as mrs is a propert manager, might be able to give you some pointers.

[200bhp]

djt77 said:

It's not quite that bad but it is very busy, depends what areas you looking at, drop me pm if you want as mrs is a propert manager, might be able to give you some pointers.

Thanks - I'll drop you a PM very soon.

[cupraglasgow]

The answer is yes, unless you know someone or get lucky, i must have viewed about 40 houses NOR of Perth some good some bad but after 6 weeks of looking you start to lower your standards a bit and then start to consider expensive stholes too.
Its also hard to understand what the owners/rental co are looking for, we have no pets no kids and we even started to offer more cash up front which worked in the end, and they still did not have the decency to clean the place so bring a Dyson.

[200bhp]

Wonderful. I'm looking forward to it already!!

[Pommygranite]

I rent now and have rented 7 places since being here and (djt this isn't at your wife) but every agent is an absolute . Rude, uncommercial and you are most definitely the commodity as a tenant. They are run, quite rightly, as investments and treated as such and therefore there is no sense as a tenant it is your home merely the house of the investor. I understand the business of it but it makes you want to buy asap.

Importantly they will hang you up by the balls if it's not kept even slightly like the property condition report. In the uk they allow a lot more for wear and tear whereas here it must be given back like you got it - wall scuffs are a teeth sucking momentat the inspections and if your payment is one day late you'll get a 'pay or be evicted' notice - great when your bank cancel your dd without your knowledge as I found!

my first rental had one drop of oil from my stbox Magna (thanks for buying it Toomuchbeer!) and the owner was sobbing that I ruined her garage. Insane.

Renting serves a purpose and I don't hate it but it's such hard work here finding one thatif you get a good one - stay in it!

[madazrx7]

We're just about to go through this again. After 3.5 years renting from friends they now have to sell so we're looking for somewhere else.

We've been very lucky here, a nice big house in Kalamunda for way under market rates, now looking at much smaller houses for more money. We recently got a dog (thinking wee were here long term) so that will make it even harder...

Yeah the property managers have it too easy here, they get a list of people wanting anything that comes up and they can pick and choose.

[npope]

Having lived in north Perth for a year and already been in three rentals it is very hard to get a house. If you have kids and animals it gets even harder.

When looking I viewed plenty of houses put in applications and even offered more money but nothing worked.

The best thing you can do is put a advert on Gumtree and keep checking for adverts I found two of mine that way and it was a lot better as you cut out the agents.

Good luck and welcome to Perth its a great place but expensive.

[WhereamI]

$700 a week really isn't that expensive depending on what you want and where you want to be....

[200bhp]

WhereamI said:

$700 a week really isn't that expensive depending on what you want and where you want to be....

It's very expensive for a 1 bedroom mid-terrance "villa" (bungalow) with a tiny parking place and even smaller sun terrace. It is in Freo though which is nice.

[djt77]

I agree with most being said on here, especially about the property managers, the ones we dealt with were cr@p, probably why tenants get on so well with Dawn, she's been on the other side of the fence and understands.

The Market does seem to have gone crazy of late but I still think you can get something nice for $550/week unless your looking City Beach etc

[WhereamI]

200bhp said:

WhereamI said:

$700 a week really isn't that expensive depending on what you want and where you want to be....

It's very expensive for a 1 bedroom mid-terrance "villa" (bungalow) with a tiny parking place and even smaller sun terrace. It is in Freo though which is nice.

Sure, although one thing you do need to look out for (and apologies if this is a statement of the obvious) is what you can get on a new rent rather than what other people are paying. I know someone paying $950 a fortnight for a great place in Sydney but he's been there four years or more and the rent hasn't kept pace. It would be closer to $950 a week if it came on the market now.

[Colonial]

Look on gumtree for lease break type situations.

Although not Perth, I'm renting in Newcastle at the moment and it had similar issues (supply/demand and mining money).

Ended up getting a great place through gumtree as the previous occupants needed to break the lease. Avoided the whole open inspection thing and battling other people.

[Bibbs]

We got our place as the previous people were breaking theirs.

It was on RealEstate though. We viewed it the day it went on and got the forms to them the next morning, and then the wife bugged them every few hours till we got it.