Australia’s rental crisis is not what you think it is

Yet the rental crisis is not what you think it is. Ben Phillips, an associate professor at the Australian National University Centre for Social Research and Methods, says talk of a national rental crisis is “overblown”. The Corelogic rental data “show a more inflamed market than ABS data, and that’s because a significant proportion of renters are in a stable situation”, Fotheringham says. “There are people who are struggling, but the talk of a generalised rental crisis is overblown,” he says. Phillips’ analysis shows that rental affordability has actually improved over the past decade, with renters’ incomes rising faster than rents.