What are Sydney's cheapest suburbs for rent?
20 Apr 2023
Finding an affordable place to rent in Sydney is hard but not impossible. We reveal the 20 cheapest suburbs to rent a house or unit.
Sydney is the most expensive capital city rental market, according to CoreLogic’s Quarterly Rental Review for the March quarter of 2023. This applies to both houses and units with the typical house costing $747 per week to rent and a typical unit renting for $648 per week.
Dwelling rental values in Sydney increased by 3.4% over the quarter and 12.6% over the 12 months to March. CoreLogic noted that this was the highest quarterly rise since the three months to April 2010 and the highest annual increase since CoreLogic records began in 2006.
CoreLogic Economist and report author, Kaytlin Ezzy, pointed out that the uptick in rental growth can be attributed to surging rents in the unit market. Over the March quarter, rental rates across Sydney increased by 5.3% for units and 2.3% for houses. The growth in unit rents (18.1%) also outpaced the growth in house rents (9.4%) over the 12 months to March.
The limited number of properties available to rent is also a major issue for Sydney renters. Just 12 months ago the vacancy rate in Sydney was a very lean 2.1% and it is now even tighter at 1.2%. The fact that we’ve seen the strongest overseas migration rate since the onset of COVID also contributed to the vacancy rate falling.
CoreLogic thinks it’s unlikely there will be much in the way of relief for renters over the short to medium term, given the imbalance between supply and demand and the fact that net migration is likely to remain strong for some time yet.
It’s worth noting that there is a wide gap between the most expensive suburbs to rent and the cheapest. For houses, the most expensive median rent is in the exclusive enclave of Vaucluse, where it costs $2,859 a week. Meanwhile, in the city’s cheapest suburb, Tregear, it costs just $466 a week to rent a house. For units, the most expensive suburb is Darling Point, at $1,250 a week, while the cheapest is Carramar, at just $374 a week to rent a unit.
CoreLogic has compiled a list of the suburbs in Sydney where it’s cheapest to rent a house or unit. Here’s the breakdown.
Top 20 cheapest suburbs to rent a house in Sydney
It is possible to find a house to rent for less than $500 a week but it does mean living at least 30 kilometres away from the CBD. The top eight cheapest suburbs are all in the Blacktown region, roughly 40 kilometres away.
Top 20 cheapest suburbs to rent a house in Sydney
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| Suburb | Avg distance to CBD |
Median weekly rental value |
Vacancy rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tregear | 40.6 km | $466 | 2.70% |
| Shalvey | 40 km | $469 | 1.20% |
| Lethbridge Park | 40.4 km | $469 | 1.80% |
| Blackett | 39 km | $471 | 1.50% |
| Dharruk | 38.5 km | $473 | 2.90% |
| Whalan | 39 km | $473 | 2.00% |
| Hebersham | 38 km | $475 | 1.80% |
| Willmot | 41.5 km | $477 | 1.50% |
| Miller | 31.1km | $492 | 1.70% |
| Sadleir | 29.7 km | $501 | 2.60% |
| Ashcroft | 29 km | $504 | 1.90% |
| Busby | 30.6 km | $508 | 3.60% |
| North St Marys | 41.1 km | $509 | 1.70% |
| Mount Druitt | 37.7 km | $511 | 1.00% |
| Oxley Park | 39.7 km | $515 | 2.20% |
| Macquarie Fields | 32.3 km | $517 | 1.70% |
| St Helens Park | 45.2 km | $520 | 0.20% |
| Bradbury | 43.6 km | $520 | 1.50% |
| St Marys | 41 km | $521 | 1.50% |
| Airds | 42.1 km | $522 | 3.00% |
Source: CoreLogic as at March 2023. Median weekly rental value refers to the 50th percentile of rental valuation observed in the region.
Top 20 cheapest suburbs to rent a unit in Sydney
If you want to live closer to the city, then you may consider a unit. The unit list features three suburbs roughly 15km away from the city – Wiley Park, Lakemba and Punchbowl – but with the vacancy rates at between 0.20% and 0.30%, it may prove tough to find a property to rent in those areas.
Top 20 cheapest suburbs to rent a unit in Sydney
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| Suburb | Avg distance to CBD |
Median weekly rental value |
Vacancy rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carramar | 22.8 km | $374 | 1.00% |
| Cabramatta | 25.3 km | $374 | 1.20% |
| Canley Vale | 24.8 km | $385 | 0.90% |
| Fairfield | 23.5 km | $398 | 1.80% |
| Warwick Farm | 26.2 km | $407 | 1.00% |
| Mount Druitt | 37.6 km | $409 | 1.00% |
| Jamisontown | 49.7 km | $415 | 0.80% |
| Minto | 37.5 km | $417 | 1.30% |
| Liverpool | 27.2 km | $418 | 1.10% |
| Leumeah | 40.2 km | $419 | 1.20% |
| Wiley Park | 14.3 km | $425 | 0.30% |
| Macquarie Fields | 32.7 km | $429 | 1.10% |
| Lakemba | 13.5 km | $433 | 0.30% |
| Gorokan | 73.5 km | $434 | 1.00% |
| Punchbowl | 15.7 km | $437 | 0.20% |
| Kingswood | 46.5 km | $439 | 1.10% |
| Werrington | 43.5 km | $440 | 1.40% |
| Campbelltown | 42.5 km | $443 | 0.70% |
| Penrith | 48.7 km | $451 | 0.90% |
| Ingleburn | 34.5 km | $453 | 0.90% |
Source: CoreLogic as at March 2023. Median weekly rental value refers to the 50th percentile of rental valuation observed in the region.
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This article was reviewed by our Editor-at-Large Effie Zahos before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
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