Northern beaches house rent prices have increased 16 per cent

The Belrose resident has been renting her four bedroom home for two and a half years, and in that time has seen the rent jump from $850 per week to $920.

The single mother of three is the sole provider for her children and a part-time disability support worker. She has experienced health issues and homelessness in the past, but now the extreme cost of rent is adding a huge amount of stress. She wants people to know that people with clean lives and jobs are suffering.

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"It is constantly being in survival mode, I love this house, I love my neighbours and I finally feel safe, all that could be taken away from me and then where are we going to go," she said. "The housing market has gone up so much and the everyday person, we're just trying to survive. All my money goes to rent and then feeding my kids with what's left over. I always have to put my health on the back page."

Ms Jackson said she lost work over COVID, and after speaking with people in the community has found her experience is not unique.

"People message me saying they don't know what to do," she said. "It's putting on so much pressure, and really the whole housing market needs to be looked at."

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Data from the REA Group shows that the median price of a property in the northern beaches increased by 31 per cent over the last 12 months, well above the 21 per cent in the Greater Sydney region. The price of a northern beaches rental increased 16 per cent for houses (and 4 per cent cent for units).

Real Estate Institute of NSW chief executive officer Tim McKibbin said the root of the housing crisis was supply and demand, with not enough properties available. Despite the heat coming off the property market slightly, he said most areas are still experiencing low vacancy rates and increasing rent.

"There is practically nowhere in the state where you could say that tenants or people desiring to be a tenant have choice and are able to get an affordable property, it doesn't exist," he said. "On a daily basis I hear dreadful stories. Yesterday, I was told that there is a couple who both work, they have children, and they're living in a caravan - they just can't find anywhere to live."

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