• PHOTO: This property in Limerick Street Coonamble is now vacant pending a cleanup and renovations.
COONAMBLE’s rental market is in a bit of a rough spot at the moment – it’s as competitive as ever and rentals are flying out the door – but some statistics suggest otherwise.
The current vacancy rate is just 0.30 per cent – marginally better than the 0% that held sway from April to September this year – but considerably lower than the 1-2 per cent rate that Finder’s Money expert, Sarah Megginson, says is sustainable in country towns.
“We see in rural towns that they don’t have a lot of turnover in their rentals, so generally vacancy rates will be a lot lower than in the cities and regional centres.”
“But a rate of 0.30% is really low, with that sort of vacancy rentals will be getting picked up before you even make a move to apply.”
Local real estate agent at Halcroft and Bennett, Fiona Foodey says this is very much the case in Coonamble.
“Every property is being snatched up – often before they even go to market.”
Good year for landlords
With a vacancy rate so low, renters will be bearing the brunt of the consequences says Sarah Megginson.
“For a landlord, you’re happy to have that competitiveness in a market – if you can get four or five applicants for your property then you have the luxury of finding the best tenant, and at the best price.”
“But for renters, you’re dealing with a competitive and volatile market.”
Curiously, some key statistics suggest Coonamble shouldn’t be in a rental crisis at all but should be experiencing an oversupply of housing.
The Census says what?
The determining factor in any rental crisis is a low supply and high demand for properties.
The vacancy rate suggests that Coonamble doesn’t have enough houses to go around – and the experts agree.
But the Census doesn’t.
On census night 2021 it was reported that 264 of the 1,816 dwellings in Coonamble were empty
That’s around one in seven homes unoccupied.
Coonamble Shire Council’s Acting Manager for Economic Development, David Levick says there could be a multitude of reasons to explain the empty homes.
“We have a lot of farmers who will have two places, one on their property and another in town.”
“There are also a lot of rundown and derelict houses, I have a couple on my street that are unsuitable for living in.”
However, Real Estate Agent at Halcroft and Bennett, Fiona Foodey says that there wouldn’t be nearly as many empty houses as the statistics say.
“We might have maybe twenty or thirty empty around Coonamble at the moment – mostly places that are run down and aren’t suitable for living in.”
“But one in seven is not very accurate I would think.”
“It could be a case of people not entering their census forms,” Mrs Foodey said.
But what about all those run-down places in town?
It is clear there aren’t two hundred empty houses in Coonamble, but there is certainly a concerning number of derelict dwellings.
Fiona Foodey believes poor management over a long period is often a key factor.
“Those places that are rundown are generally a result of poor property management – not conducting consistent inspections for example.”
“Then it will just sit there idle until someone does something with it.” she said.
“From there it will take a lot of work to have them liveable – it’ll be a knockdown and rebuild for many.”
Who owns these empty properties?
The organisations that manage Coonamble’s social or public housing say there are few vacancies among their stock of properties.
Firstly, there’s Murdi Paaki which owns nineteen homes in Coonamble with no vacancies.
The Aboriginal Housing Office manages fourteen properties, and the Aboriginal Land Council has twenty three.
Between them only two units and one house are available.
The situation is much the same with the NSW Department of Land and Environment (DLE) who manage thirty-seven properties in Coonamble.
The DLE say their thirty-six properties are filled and the other is currently under offer to a waitlist member.
On the face of it, social housing is not a big factor in any unoccupied local homes.
Seeking solutions
The impacts of the rental crisis have been catastrophic according to Coonamble Mayor, Tim Horan, who says the market volatility is contributing to worker shortages.
“We’re developing a housing strategy in council because we’re struggling to attract staff, just because we can’t house them anywhere,” Cr Horan said.
“We’re pushing for emergency services like police and nurses, to have housing as well at an attractive price so they come to town as well.”
Self-help for renters
While there is no quick fix for a widespread rental crisis, there are a few things you can do if you are looking for a rental.
Sarah Megginson says it’s about making yourself more attractive to landlords as a renter.
“One thing I recommend is creating a rental resume – showing off your best qualities as a renter like consistently making payments, being open in communication, etc.”
“You hand this resume in with your application for a rental and it really sets you apart.”
“You can also make yourself known to your real estate agent – so when a property does come available they might be inclined to give you a ring beforehand and get you that rental.”
Sarah Megginson says Christmas is often the perfect time to secure that rental.
“The holiday period tends to be a slower time for real estate, so it’s often the perfect time to secure a lease.”
“But the best advice for anyone is to stay strong and be persistent.”
State support
As for solutions on a statewide policy level, the NSW government has been announcing various schemes to unlock additional housing and also began working towards creating a fairer situation for renters.
One area that is being addressed is rent bidding – the process of landlords and agents asking prospective renters to out-bid other people to secure a tenancy.
NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced on December 12 that rent bidding will be made illegal.
“It’s time to put an end to this practice and give more people security and certainty so they can plan for their future.”
“The search for a rental property is tough enough without it turning into a bidding war that pushes people beyond their comfort level.”
“An advertised rental fee should be just that and we will take action to ensure rental bidding is outlawed.”
New regulations on rental bidding with come into action on December 17.
BY LIAM MULHALL