Denmark ranked third WA suburb in most need of housing stocks in new rental crisis report

Denmark is WA’s third worst hit suburb in the State’s unrelenting rental crisis, with a rental vacancy rate of zero per cent and the average household spending half its weekly income on rent, new research has revealed. A report from RentRabbit in March revealed the top 20 WA suburbs in desperate need of housing stock based on rental vacancy rates, average weekly incomes and socio-economic status. The report confirmed the extent of the housing woes Denmark locals have been fighting against for months amid WA’s worst-ever housing crisis. Denmark ranked number three on the list — behind Coodanup and Busselton — with a rental vacancy rate of zero per cent and a median weekly household income of $847. Although Coodanup had a higher rental vacancy rate than Denmark at 0.5 per cent, its average weekly income was only $830, just over the WA minimum wage of $779 per week. According to the report, a suburb with a vacancy rate of zero per cent did not mean there were no vacant rental properties, as rental properties were regarded as “officially” vacant when they had been on the market for 21 days or more. A search of Realestate.com on Tuesday, showed two homes for rent in Denmark listed at $450 a week and $410 a week. The average weekly rent for a Denmark house in March was $420 — accounting for 49.5 per cent of the average weekly household income. This was an increase in average weekly rent by 20 per cent since March 2021 when the figure was $350. Albany’s Spencer Park was ranked sixth worst on the list of suburbs struggling with chronic rental shortages with a rental vacancy rate of 0.5 per cent — compared to 1.4 per cent in March 2021 — and an average weekly household income of $944. The median weekly rent for Spencer Park in March 2022 was $370, an increase from $345 in March last year. RentRabbit.com.au co-founder Ben Pretty said tenants with low incomes did not have the means to shop around for properties. “Many renters in WA are being faced with a triple whammy — they live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, they have low household incomes and it’s incredibly hard for them to find rental accommodation,” he said. “Some of these renters are living in suburbs that have a vacancy rate of zero per cent, which means rental properties are being snapped up the moment they become vacant. “Unsurprisingly, in the vast majority of these suburbs, rents have increased over the past year, often by double-digit percentages. It really is a crisis.”