H
olly Beddall, a 22‑year‑old fashion marketing assistant from the UK, has been sharing her battle to secure a home in Sydney on TikTok, where she now has 25,000 followers. She says the “Sydney rental crisis” is far harsher than the myths online. After a year of staying in hostels and friends’ places, she finally landed a room in Bondi for $580 a week—an amount that rivals or exceeds what many Londoners pay, and only after out‑competing more than a hundred other applicants.
Her experience is not unique. Across Australia, the rental market is tightening, with several suburbs reporting double‑digit rent increases in just three months. Vacancy rates are at historic lows, and in affluent Woollahra rents rose 12.1 % from $1,650 to $1,850 per week. Senior economist Eleanor Creagh of REA Group notes that while growth has slowed, prices remain high, and without a significant boost in supply, rents are unlikely to fall.
The supply problem is stark. The National Housing Accord aims to deliver 1.2 million new homes between July 2024 and June 2029, but the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded only 186,000 approvals in the 2024‑25 financial year—far below the 240,000 per year needed to meet the target. The shortfall is exacerbating the already strained rental market.
Compounding the issue is a surge in migration. In the March quarter of 2025, 110,062 new arrivals—about 1,223 people a day—boosted the population by nearly 500,000 annually. Migration accounted for three‑quarters of the country’s growth, doubling the pre‑pandemic quarterly average of 55,036. Critics argue that this influx overwhelms housing supply, inflates rents and property prices, and strains infrastructure and public services. The Institute of Public Affairs claims the current intake has eroded the dream of home ownership and left many Australians poorer.
Housing experts point out that migration’s primary impact is on rental prices, but the pressure spills over into the buying market as well. As the nation grapples with a housing crisis, a growing migrant population, and insufficient new construction, the dream of affordable living in Australia remains elusive for many, including Holly Beddall and countless others.
