Middle-income Australians experiencing rental stress with a third of pay spent on housing, report shows

While rent rises have been slowing, housing advocates are calling for governments to introduce limits on rent increases. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Even Australians on median incomes are in rental stress, a new report has found, with households on middle incomes spending 33% of their wages on housing.

Last year saw the smallest annual rental increase since 2021, going up 4.8% over the year – down from 8.1% in 2023, CoreLogic’s report found.