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Australia’s typical tenant is most likely to be female, aged between 35-49, earning an income in excess of $50,000 and looking for properties more than $300 per week, according to the results of a survey carried out on realestate.com.au earlier this year.
80% of surveyed tenants said they looked after their rental property the same way they would their own home, and 92% said they always pay their rent on time.
Despite it being a tenants’ market in the majority of states, respondents from high-income households ($100k+) were the most likely to stay at home for ‘lifestyle factors’ with 72% of those in the market to rent being female. Male tenants (15%) were significantly more likely to cite the ability to invest money elsewhere as an advantage to renting, compared with females at 8%. Metro tenants (24%) were significantly more likely to cite the ability to rent in a better area than they could afford to buy in as an advantage of renting. This was compared with 17% of regional tenants. Tenants are looking to stand out in the crowd
Rental markets are strong (in most states) with a number of parties generally competing for rental properties. 59% of those who attended open for inspections indicated that more than five other people typically attended. Tenants take advantage of winter in rental property search with 52% of tenants believing that winter is the best time to search for property due to fewer tenants looking for properties. Around a fifth of people in the rental market made contact with an agent for relationship building purposes. One in five (19%) respondents that had submitted an application had offered more rent to try to secure the property, with most (12%) offering $10 to $20 more a week. Those who rent together, stay together
One in seven current tenants entered into a relationship at some time, with more than half still together.
Segment profiles
Those in the market to rent were significantly more likely to be:
<ul>
<li>Female (at 72%)</li>
<li>Aged less than 25 years (at 17%)</li>
<li>Living in lower to middle income households (&lt;$100,000), with a similar proportion of visitors earning less than $50,000 as to those earning between $50,000 to $100,000 (at 36% and 35% respectively)</li>
</ul>
Those in the market to share were significantly more likely to be:
<ul>
<li>Aged less than 25 years (at 34%)</li>
<li>Living in lower income households (&lt; $50,000 at 38%)</li>
<li>Studying full time (at 26%)</li>
<li>Single and living with other (at 52%)</li>
</ul>
Price range sought be state
The price ranges sought remained relatively stable in each state, with the exception of Tasmania (however the sample size for this state was small). The most expensive markets remained NSW and WA, with the $400+ price range for WA significantly increasing this wave (now at 55%, up +12%). The following stats highlight what the majority of respondents were paying in each state, including 2012 and 2013 comparisons: NSW Jan 12 – 41% were paying $400+ per week Jan 13 – 47% were paying $400+ per week ACT Jan 12 – 41% were paying $400+ per week Jan 13 – 47% were paying $400+ per week VIC Jan 12 – 33% were paying $200 - $300 per week Jan 13 – 33% were paying $300 - $400 per week QLD Jan 12 – 37% were paying $300 - $400 per week Jan 13 – 38% were paying $300 - $400 per week WA Jan 12 – 43% were paying $400+ per week Jan 13 – 55% were paying $400+ per week SA Jan 12 – 38% were paying $200 - $300 per week Jan 13 – 41% were paying $200 - $300 per week NT Jan 12 – 38% were paying $200 - $300 per week Jan 13 – 41% were paying $200 - $300 per week TAS Jan 12 – 37% were paying $200 - $300 per week Jan 13 – 44% were paying $200 - $300 per week
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Survey approach: The survey was conducted between 21st Jan 2013 and 3rd Feb 2013. Visitors were asked to participate via a within-window invite randomly launched from pages under the ‘Rent’ tab on realestate.com.au. 2,921 visitors completed the survey, with 2,450 visitors qualifying for the full survey i.e. were seeking to rent, share or lease out a property.
Sabina Read is a contributor to realestate.com.au and a psychologist with broad experience in counselling, facilitating and consulting with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organisations addressing life transitions, work issues, couple challenges, parenting, as well as anxiety and depression across the lifespan. She is currently a regular psychological and social commentator on national and local TV, radio, the web and magazines. Visit her online at www.sabinareadpsychology.com.au and on Twitter at @ReadSabina
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Sabina Read

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