Cheapest Suburbs to rent close to Sydney

[Guest The Pom Queen]

With Sydney rents rising at their fastest rate it five years, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for tenants to be able to afford to live close to the city centre.

But among the suburbs within a 15-kilometre drive of the central business district, there is one particular cluster of suburbs offering the best value for tenants.

Belmore, about 14 kilometres south-west of the CBD in Canterbury-Bankstown, is the cheapest suburb within that distance to Sydney’s CBD with a median weekly asking rent of $550 for a three-bedroom home. The prices only go up from there.

This three-bedroom Belmore home at 20 Cleary Avenue is advertised for rent at $530 a week, just below the suburb’s median of $550. Photo: Supplied.

In neighbouring suburbs Belfield and Campsie, the median asking rent for a three-bedroom house is $580 and $620, respectively.

Property manager Peter Pantuosco, of Mint Property Agents, who manages properties in both Belfield and Belmore, said the areas offered more value for money than nearby suburbs.

“It’s generally families renting here, as it’s not as expensive as surrounding suburbs,” he said, adding there was a big variety in the quality of homes in the area, and a number of original-condition houses that were more affordable to rent.

This home in Belfield, which has a median rent of $580, is advertised for $550 a week. Photo: Supplied.

Mr Pantuosco said properties in Belmore tended to be rented out more quickly, as the suburb had a train station, while Belfield was only serviced by buses.

 

Closer to the city – within 10 kilometres’ drive of the CBD – the best value suburb for renting a three-bedroom home is Ashfield, where the median rent is $670.

Despite being nearer to the city, it has a lower median than the inner-west suburbs Five Dock ($750), Croydon ($700), Concord West ($735) and Burwood ($688), and has a significantly lower median than neighbouring Haberfield ($888) and Summer Hill ($800), and nearby Dulwich Hill ($765).

Ashfield has a median house price of $670. Photo: Supplied.

“The average days on market for our rentals is less than a week,” said property investment co-ordinator Gabriella Scodeller of LJ Hooker Ashfield. 

Ms Scodeller said increasingly, younger buyers and renters were relocating to the area from trendier inner-city suburbs.

“The demographic has changed … we’re seeing more professional couples, young families and international students looking to rent here,” she said.

“A lot have come from the inner-city area to have a bigger space and get more value for money.”

 

This is your average three-bedroom Paddington rental, with an advertised asking rent of $1350.

 

At the opposite end of the scale, Woollahra ($1550), North Bondi ($1448), Paddington ($1350) and Balmain ($1250) are the most expensive places to rent a three-bedroom home within 15 kilometres of the city centre.

When it comes to four-bedroom houses, Mosman ($2300) and Bronte ($2250) move to the top of the list, with Paddington ($2075) in third place, followed by Woollahra ($2000) and North Bondi ($1900).

 

For Mosman’s median four-bedroom asking price of $2,300 you could rent this home at 8 Clifton Street. Photo: Supplied.

 

The suburb with the lowest four-bedroom house median is Campsie, with an advertised asking rent of $650. Concord West and Ryde are next, with medians of $695 and $775.

While tenants are seeking out more affordable areas, cheaper rental locations such as Canterbury-Bankstown and the inner west have seen the biggest surges in rent in the past three months.

“The Sydney rental market is very tough,” said Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson, who noted that apart from having to pay higher rents than tenants in other cities, Sydneysiders faced tougher competition. .

“Even right on the edge of the 15-kilometre borderline, suburbs are over Sydney’s $550 median,” he added. 

 

This four-bedroom Campsie home at 22 Nicholas Avenue has an advertised rent in line with the suburb’s $650 median. Photo: Supplied.

 

He said finding an affordable rental was often a case of choosing proximity to the city or quality, with inner-suburbs with lower medians usually home to more small, old or weatherboard houses.

“There’s the issue of quality, not just the issue of price and proximity,” Dr Wilson said. “People are asking, ‘Just how far out do I need to go to get a decent, affordable rental property?”