Housing shortage to drive up rent in 2011

By finance reporter Alicia Barry

Updated Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:38am AEDT

RP Data says that rents in capital cities rose 4.2 per cent last year. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin, file photo)

A lack of supply in the housing market is not only pushing property prices up, but rents too, and new research from RP Data says the situation will worsen over the next 12 months.

RP Data's December quarter Rental Review shows that rents in capital cities rose 4.2 per cent last year, compared with a 2.9 per cent rise nationally.
Currently, Darwin is the most expensive city in Australia to rent a house, with a median weekly rent of $520. It is followed by Canberra at $490 and Sydney with a median weekly rent of $450.
The cheapest capital cities to rent houses are Adelaide, where renters will pay - MORE