Diliff

Hi all,

Funnily enough, I am actually Australian, but I've lived in the UK for a bit over 10 years, most of my responsible adult life. I'm now Aus/UK dual citizen so I guess technically I'm soon to be a British Expat! I'm looking to move back to Melbourne with my wife and young daughter at the end of the year. So although I've lived in Melbourne before, a lot has changed in the time I've been away. Sadly, the cost of housing for one!!

We're looking to arrive just 1 week before Christmas. We've been offered my aunt's 2 bed townhouse for 2 weeks as a stop gap until we've found our own place but with Christmas and the New Year being a particularly bad time to be looking, I'm wondering whether it might be worth trying to find something before we arrive. As such, I'm also wondering how to handle offers. We're probably looking at somewhere near my family in the inner/mid Eastern and North Eastern suburbs. Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Surrey Hills, Mont Albert, Fairfield, Balwyn, Bulleen. That kind of thing, but willing to look out a bit further if necessary. I've been looking on a few sites for an idea of weekly prices.

What I'm wondering about is what the current state of the rental market is. In the UK, I've found that there is often a bit of wiggle room in the asking price of rentals and it's common for landlords to accept a lower than asking price or short tenancy in order to get their house rented. My understanding is that it's a different story in Australia. I had read a while ago that it had become difficult as a renter these days in Melbourne and you have to be very quick and possibly even offer more than the asking price to secure the better flats and houses. Is that accurate and still the case or has it calmed down a bit?

Any thoughts or advice appreciated on this.

Thanks,
David

Buzzy--Bee

Hi David, the answer is probably very suburb-dependent. A lot of what you mention is very true in the more popular suburbs.

Also the whole market is effectively closed between Christmas and Australia day and hardly any tenancies will change hands in this time. So you may find that waiting a few weeks will give you a lot more choice.

Which suburbs were you thinking of?

Diliff

Thanks for your reply. I think you're probably right that it depends on the suburb. I did mention the suburbs I was thinking of in my message. I said "the inner/mid Eastern and North Eastern suburbs. Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Surrey Hills, Mont Albert, Fairfield, Balwyn, Bulleen. That kind of thing".

I guess they may be considered 'popular', although probably not as popular as Richmond, Carlton, St Kilda, etc.

Buzzy--Bee

Sorry... bit late in the evening here.

I would suggest in those suburbs particularly inner ones like Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell there will be a lot of competition for rentals. You may well find you are viewing the properties with 30 or 40 other people, although a lot of them will not proceed with the application for various reasons.

jad n rich

When renting you have to view the property. Or have someone view it for you. Usually want it to a person on the lease. Basically so you can't say they misrepresented the property. Given some of the photos used you do wonder if you are even viewing the correct property. Are you buying eventually? Please be aware under quoting is rife, unfortunately a few hundred thousand under is the norm! Despite all that we managed to get a rental in a week by upping the rent and paying 6 months upfront. Housing and job market very overcrowded.

Japonica

Good that you're flexible. We started looking around Mont Albert originally then had to keep moving further and further out to find something suitable in our budget. Now we're definitely in outer Melbourne.

niki723

Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell and Fairfield are popular, the others less so.
In general, you should have all your paperwork ready to go, and hand it in at the viewing if you like the place. A lack of rental history in Australia may work against you (it did for me, so I had to pay 6 months in advance to secure an apartment), so if you can afford to offer a higher rent or pay in advance, they'll take you more seriously.

Buzzy--Bee

Some short term accommodation providers such as us will give you a landlords reference as part of their service.

Beoz

You also might find that the time of year you are looking might provide a bit of landlord desperation. If someone vacates a property at this time of year the last thing a landlord wants is weekly rental losses. Good time to throw in a cheeky bid. You will have to weigh that up at the time. If you have an agent on your case after a viewing, you are in the box seat.

Not sure how Melbourne relates to this but 5 years ago Sydney was hot and competitive. People were offering more than the said price and throwing 6 month up front to secure the deal. There's now a lot of supply on the market and you can be more choosy and negotiable. Best check out rental yield growth/decline doing a Google search. I believe rental yields across the country have largely declined which suggests a good supply ..... again area dependent.

Pomster

we have a friend staying with us at the moment who is looking for a rental (not in the burbs you have listed but ones like Elwood). The competition is fierce and people are offering over the odds.
One agent told her that nearer Christmas it will ease off- no idea if this is true.

I would take up your aunt's offer. Looking at places is the only way- the camera really does lie as our mate has found out. Carefully angled shots make a place look fab, when its a hovel.

The eastern suburbs you have listed are v expensive, so you may need to widen your search.

evets

Hi David,

I am in the SE suburbs, Carnegie and will be moving out mid Jan. PM me if you want more information. The EA is very good and the landlady gets things fixed.

Also I have some items that am selling if you are interested.