A Perth resident has taken aim at property investors who are coming off the highway in droves and driving up rents and house prices for locals.
Frustrated locals revealed that their rent had risen by more than 50 percent in the past year and a half and they had been frozen out of the property market.
Western Australia’s capital has seen massive population growth in recent years and has attracted increasing interest in the affordable property market.
The city boasts some of the lowest prices in the country, with an average house price of $735,276, compared to $1,414,229 in Sydney.
About 2.9 million residents call Perth home after the population grew by 3.3 per cent in the year to September.
A Perth tenant has taken aim at property investors and Australians flocking to Washington’s capital (pictured) and driving up property and rental prices
An increase in population and growing interest from interstate buyers has seen home prices rise by 20 percent in the past year.
The increase has had an impact on renters, with residents seeing an average increase of $80 per week, while some faced much more.
The outraged Perth resident took to social media to tell others not to move to the city as his rent has risen by $260 a week in just 18 months.
After initially paying just $350 a week for rent in Perth, the resident blames property investors for the total $610 he now spends every week.
“I make good money, but house prices combined with daily expenses mean I cannot save enough to buy a house,” he wrote. Reddit.
“I have friends who have made offers, but investors bid them back every time (by $50,000-60,000).”
Locals then took aim at the rising cost of living affecting Aussies, saying ‘healthcare is no longer bulk billed, food is ridiculously expensive, same goes for fuel and services… WTF should we do? ‘
The post caught the attention of locals who joined in, with many claiming it stems from a number of issues including housing supply and immigration.
“Immigration is definitely one issue, but the main cause of it all is the lack of housing supply,” one user wrote.
“Perth – and pretty much all of Australia – doesn’t have enough traders to build enough homes at a decent price.”
“We have enough supply for owner-occupiers, but not enough for either them or all investors,” wrote a second.
He now pays $160 a week more in rent than he did a year and a half ago and can’t afford to buy a house whose costs have risen 20 percent in the past year (stock image)
“If they could reduce the demand for using real estate for investment, that would reduce demand and reduce the supply we have to provide.”
Another said Perth was starting to lose its charm as a slower, quieter and more suburban city.
“No heavy traffic in the morning, basic expenses didn’t go through the roof (although inflation certainly contributed to this) and the overall atmosphere was nice and slow,” they wrote.
‘Having lived in the east in the past, I worry that Perth is slowly becoming Sydney or Melbourne.’
