Renting in Sydney

My partner and I, mid 20s, young professionals to be, will be returning to Sydney after a year abroad. We will be spending a week on an AirBnB place and will be on a lookout for to rent a properly for at least a year. We prefer a studio or a single bedroom unit. Is it wise to negotiate for better rent if you lock in for a year instead of 6 months? How's the renting market going - is the supply bigger than demand? Is it as crazy as the property trading market?

It seems like the rent within 4-5 suburbs radius from the CBD is pretty uniform according to my survey of listings. Our budget is $375-500/week range. I also read that there's a shift in night crowds away from Kings Cross to nice suburbs like Pyrmont and Newtown because of 1:30am lockouts. Can you all recommend some nice suburbs?

As we will be looking for jobs, should we hold it out on renting a place until one of us finds a job and live in the outer suburbs (probably need a car) or should we just live in the CBD (public transport for the win) as it is much more convenient and price-wise its almost the same.

Comments

  • +1

    I also read that there's a shift in night crowds away from Kings Cross to nice suburbs like Pyrmont and Newtown because of 1:30am lockouts. Can you all recommend some nice suburbs?

    Lockout laws forced the doof warriors to migrate from the cross to inner west, which is… bad news for people like me, but good news for new renters eyeing somewhere like Paddington or Darlinghurst. That said, it's not as extreme as some may have heard, because 1) it's never as bad as the cross used to be (just because it's not a clubbing area), 2) it's mostly concentrated on king st, the strip between USYD and where it splits from enmore rd. As long as you don't live anywhere close to that, Newtown is fine, ditto with residential ares of Pyrmont. Surrounding suburbs like Enmore, Stanmore, Petersham or Erskineville are (mostly) unaffected by lockout.

    • Thanks for the suburb suggestions mate, it is always good to hear from those with experience. I'm sure you will be okay in the inner west if you bought it =)

  • +1

    Is it wise to negotiate for better rent if you lock in for a year instead of 6 months?

    I very much doubt any owners would be willing to negotiate rent for such a short period of time, most properties will require you to sign a 12 month lease.

  • I don't think 6 month is really an option. You are looking at at least 12 months. One option you could get is a discount when paying 12 months upfront. Some landlords loves that.

    With your budget of up to $500/week you will have plenty of options for a studio/1 bedroom. There are plenty available.

    • That's a great idea - I'll consider that especially since interest rates are low and the stock market is highly volatile of late.

  • In the Sydney rental market you negotiate up, not down, to secure a property.

    • This should be the last piece to my renting in Sydney jigsaw puzzle. Getting a bit more wiser with every reply. Ty.

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