In hundreds of suburbs, tenants are now paying more each week in rent than they would be paying on a mortgage for the same type of home.
For years, renters have been told they’re better off waiting on the sidelines while property prices feel out of reach. But a quiet shift is happening across the Australian housing market. In hundreds of suburbs, tenants are now paying more each week in rent than they would be paying on a mortgage for the same type of home. It’s a surprising flip that’s been driven less by booming prices and more by relentless rent rises.
This doesn’t mean buying is suddenly easy or right for everyone. But it does mean the rent-versus-buy conversation is worth revisiting, especially if you’ve built a solid deposit and are feeling squeezed by weekly rent increases.
The big driver behind this shift is rent growth. In many areas, rents have jumped 15–20 per cent in a single year, while home prices and interest rates have been more stable by comparison. When you run the numbers using an average variable interest rate of around 5.5 per cent and a 20 per cent deposit, mortgage repayments in 232 Australian suburbs now come in cheaper than the median weekly rent.
That calculation assumes buyers are borrowing 80 per cent of the property value and paying stamp duty upfront. It also assumes renters are paying the median advertised rent in their suburb. Ongoing ownership costs like strata fees, council rates and insurance aren’t included, so it’s not a perfect like-for-like comparison. Still, it highlights just how stretched rents have become.
Where buyers really benefit is certainty. While rents can rise every year, a home loan repayment can be structured for stability, especially if you’re planning to stay put for a while.
Western Australia stands out as the clearest example of this inversion. Years of tight rental supply have pushed rents sharply higher, particularly for units. Around 60 per cent of unit markets across the state are now cheaper to own than rent, assuming a 20 per cent deposit.
In several Perth suburbs, weekly mortgage repayments on a typical apartment are between $130 and $175 lower than renting. That’s real money back in the household budget each week. Even suburbs slightly further out are offering savings of $100 or more.
The most extreme examples are in mining towns, where rents have surged due to worker demand. In some locations, unit owners are hundreds of dollars a week better off than renters. These areas are often dominated by investors and FIFO workers, so they’re not always suitable for owner-occupiers, but they do show how distorted rents have become.
Queensland has nearly 300 suburbs where buying is cheaper than renting, with potential savings of up to $300 a week. While the state’s median rent has hit record highs, the biggest opportunities tend to be in apartments and regional markets rather than detached houses in capital cities.
In South East Queensland, there are pockets where unit repayments undercut rents for buyers with strong deposits. Regional centres also stand out, where rent growth has been rapid but purchase prices remain comparatively modest.
New South Wales tells a similar story, particularly in Sydney’s unit market. There are no house markets within 50 kilometres of the CBD where buying beats renting, but apartments are a different story. In dozens of high-density suburbs, servicing a loan on a median-priced unit can be more than $100 a week cheaper than paying rent. For renters who already live in these areas, that can be a powerful motivator to explore buying locally rather than moving further out.
This is where the fine print matters. These “cheaper to buy” scenarios rely heavily on buyers having a 20 per cent deposit. With a smaller deposit, loan sizes increase, interest costs rise, and the weekly repayment advantage can disappear quickly.
Low-deposit schemes can help people get into the market sooner, but they often come with higher interest rates or lenders mortgage insurance. In practice, that can rule out many of the suburbs that look affordable on paper. For some borrowers, renting and continuing to build savings may still be the smarter short-term move.
This is why personalised advice is so important. Two borrowers looking at the same suburb can have very different outcomes depending on their deposit, income, loan structure and long-term plans.
If your rent has jumped sharply over the past year, it may be time to run the numbers again rather than assuming buying is out of reach. You don’t need to be ready to buy tomorrow, but understanding your borrowing power and what repayments could look like can change how you plan the next 12–24 months.
For some renters, the answer will still be “not yet”. For others, especially those with strong savings, buying could mean lower weekly costs, more stability, and the chance to put money into their own asset instead of a landlord’s.
If you’re curious about how this stacks up for your situation or your suburb, having a chat with a mortgage broker can help cut through the noise. A quick, obligation-free conversation can give you clarity on whether renting or buying makes more sense for you right now — and what steps you might take next.