Good news for renters: Rent prices are finally showing signs of stability across the country.
Although rents in Australia remain at record highs, they are no longer increasing, according to Domain’s September quarterly rental report.
From June to September, median asking house rent prices in Australia's combined capital cities held steady at $650 a week. That marks the fifth consecutive quarter where median house rents in the nation's combined capital cities have gone unchanged. It's also the longest period of stability in almost a decade: since the period from 2014 to 2016.
"The national message is consistent: rental momentum has broken," the property platform's report said. "After three years of relentless increases, growth has stalled. Houses stopped first, now units have followed. Demand remains strong and vacancy is still tight; however, tenants have reached affordability limits, population growth has eased and a rise in investor activity is slowly adding to the stock."
House rental prices remained flat quarter-over-quarter in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra, while Brisbane and Hobart saw modest increases. Darwin was the only capital city to record a significant rise, with rents climbing 5.9%, quarter-over-quarter, to $720 a week, up from $680 in June 2025.
Meanwhile, median unit rents across the combined capital cities stayed the same at $650 a week for the second straight quarter. Rents were unchanged in Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra, dipped in Perth and Hobart, and rose in Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin.
Sydney remains the most expensive city to rent in, with median weekly prices at $780 for houses and $750 for units. However, for the first time in six years, house rents in Sydney held steady this quarter.
"The pause cements the slowdown that's been unfolding over the past two years," the report said. "It’s a clear sign that many tenants have reached an affordability ceiling after years of steep increases."
At the more affordable end of the market, median house rents in Melbourne and Hobart sit at $580 a week, while Hobart offers the cheapest unit rentals at $490 a week.
The report also noted a slight uptick in vacancy rates, though they remain near historic lows across most capital cities. That means finding a rental is still competitive.
Australia’s ongoing housing shortage has historically made it difficult for many to buy a home, keeping them in the rental market longer than planned. But recent policy updates – including the Labor Party’s expanded Home Guarantee Scheme – as well as reduced interest rates have made homeownership more accessible, enabling some renters to make the leap onto the property ladder.
Luke Ashby, a mortgage broker at Emerge Finance, added that rental increases have also pushed some renters into the market.
"Rising rents and a few rate cuts have helped with inquiries. People who are typically renters are looking at the option to buy," Ashby told Australian Broker. "We get heaps of inquiries from people who are sick of renting because their rent just keeps increasing by quite a large amount and consecutively. So people who would typically be renters their whole lives are now looking at the option to buy, because they're just sick of the increases, sick of the instability of being a tenant. Because the property could be sold on them at any time; the owner could want to move into the property at any time. There's no real stability there."
This means more first-time homebuyers are entering the market. Additionally, some property owners have taken to rentvesting: buying in a more affordable market, while renting and living in their desired city.
The Brisbane-based broker added that easing rental demand is contributing to rising property prices nationwide.
"Because there's more buyers out there," Ashby said. "Just after COVID-19, you could rent anything and name a price. But now people are a little bit more picky. That might be fueling the stabilisation; the market's not as hot. Rents aren't increasing because there's not as much demand."
