Nicky & Dave

Guys,

We'd really appreciate the views of those of you living in Sydney, especially anyone who moved over in December 05/January 06.

Dave was speaking to his sister today (who lives in the Upper North Shore area), and she advised us that we have no chance of securing a rental during December/early January, as the market is dead due to Christmas holidays. She's absolutely adamant that there will be nothing available - or what will be available will be the 'dregs' of the market that agents can't shift!

Now, I know that the rental market is tough at the moment, with demand outstripping supply, but I find it hard to believe that the entire rental market comes to a complete stand-still in December???? If this is true, we need to completely reassess our plans and finances, so we need to validate that what she's saying is true.

We'll obviously ring some of the local agents covering the Upper North Shore, which is where we're looking to rent, but I'd appreciate hearing from others in Sydney on this. Did anyone else struggle with finding a rental in Dec/Jan?

Cheers,

(A very worried) Nicky

jjonboy

Hi from a yorkshire couple who have been in syd for 3.5 yrs. I think personally what has been said to you has some substance but a lot comes down to luck. It does goquiet over the holiday months but then again we moved in to a lovely brand new property in hornsby on the 23dec one year.... leases do end in these months though and also new properties are completed

you can always take furnished apartment or similar for a few weeks if you need it. http://www.waldorf.com.au/ is one example. don't panic would be my advice.... just get here and work things through one by one...

isgraham

I moved over December 05 and had no problems finding a rental I am in Cremorne/Neutral Bay and there seemed to be plenty of properties to choose from. Only took me 4 days to find a place that I liked and to secure it. Also there were no problems with references as estate agents seem to be more concerned with your ability to pay i.e. having a job or having a good bank balance.

soapy©

we left sydney in march and a mate of ours had been looking to change rental in the north (about before we left)
he told me that there was nothing to rent up there and he did mean nothing.
he was looking for a 3/4 bedder, so it will depend on what your looking for.
good luck guys

gedge

We've taken on rentals in the north shore area in Nov and Feb, so just outside of the period you're asking. Had no real problems either time, but as has been said it might depend on what you're after.
The problem you may find in this area, and certain suburbs are more affected than others, is the influx of summer renters coming to spend 6-8 months by the beach.

Would you really put your plans on hold because of this? We never considered it before we arrived but I doubt it would have changed our arrival date.

soapy©

im with on this one gedge.
they might find it hard getting something that they love, but they will get something.
dont rely on the net. when u get there go into every real estate shop in the area and leave your phone number !!!
if u have heard nothing from them by the next day, pester them to death

4lex

This is the line the agents like to feed the media, but in truth if this were the case rents would be increasing, and the two pleasant units either side of ours in Waverley (Just south of Bondi Junction) would not have been standing empty for over ten weeks now. I wouldn't worry about it, there's plenty on the market.

coggerocks2

From what I have observed the rental market does slow down a bit over christmas - for example our contract had a clause that although the lease expired around christmas it was carried over for another two weeks.

On the other had if there are less leases expiring there are also less people looking!

It depends on your finances but you could always get your-self into a seriviced apartment or Motel while your wating for more to come on the market?

spottydog

We were looking for places in Balmain just before Christmas last year. I think there were a bit fewer properties available but there were also less people looking for properties and we were able to secure the property of our choice easily.

Brian Clough down under

Yeah it will be harder, but it's still possible. Try LJ Hooker.com - i've found them to be quite good and efficient.

Nicky & Dave

Thanks all for your comments - you're reasurred me! I just wanted to get a more balanced view as we thought Dave's sis was being a bit overdramatic.

We'll be arriving on 4th December irrespective of the rental market and we'll just start looking immediately. We have the potential of a private rental starting January in Thornleigh, which has come up through friends of the family, so we'll look into that as well.

Cheers everyone - karma dished out when I'm restocked!

Nicky

TheAshleys

We are in the same boat. We will be looking in the same area, at the same time. If you like, we can PM you to keep you updated of our progress, and once we are there what we see etc, and maybe you could do the same ?

Cheers

debilloyd

Hey Nicky

Good to hear from you girlie. As you know we are on the Upper North Shore and I must admit I think there is some substance to what you have heard. We arrived in Sydney on the 6th January and gave ourselves 2 weeks to find a rental. We wanted to find a house in the Killara catchment area (for school) but the places we looked at were real dives and not worth what they were asking in rent. In the end we settled in St Ives as I'd heard it also had a good school and we are really settled there.

Give us a yell when you get over and we can meet for a beer. Can also give you a bed until you find a rental but imagine you will be staying with the relatives?

Debs
xx

Nicky & Dave

Thanks Debs - was going to PM you to ask your advice on this, so thanks for this. We're fine for a bed, as we'll be staying with the rellies in Asquith, but will definately take you up on that beer!

My in-laws have been into a couple of agencies in Asquith who also confirmed the truth of what SIL had said, so we're just have to see what's available when we get out there. Need to start getting into the laid-back Aussie mentality - rather than the up-tight stressed brit one I'm currently in!

Take care,

Nicky