South East one of the toughest rental markets

Melbourne's South East is one of the toughest rental markets in the country. Picture: ON FILE

By Corey Everitt

Residents seeking to rent in the local area are facing stiff competition with recent data showing Melbourne’s South East is in the top ten as one of the toughest rental markets in the country.

A recent report from realestate.com showed that the South East was the ninth toughest market in the country and was third toughest in Victoria, only beat out by Melbourne’s North East and Outer East.

The data shows that the South East is recording a 1.01 percent vacancy rate which is just under the average across Melbourne of 1.1 percent according to SQM Research.

Year-on-Year growth in median rent stands at 14.6 percent in the South East just a percentage under Melbourne’s North East 15.6 percent.

With each listing almost 50 are commonly enquiring about the property with 47 the median average people who are vying for listings.

In individual suburbs, Pakenham has recorded a 11.6 percent increase to the median rent price in the 12 months prior March 2024. Officer a 10.6 percent increase, Berwick 10.2 percent and Beaconsfield 7.8 percent.