The Lake Macquarie suburb of Eleebana has taken out the top spot in a new list of the most expensive suburbs to rent, bumping out other high-end suburbs such as Merewether and Hamilton South.
Meanwhile, Jesmond has come in as the cheapest suburb to rent in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, according to CoreLogic's Quarterly Rental Review report.
Eleebana led rental prices to record a median value of $758 per week followed by Hamilton South ($749); Redhead ($731); Valentine ($722); and Merewether ($718).
At the lower end of the market, Jesmond with a median rent value of $462 per week came out as the cheapest ahead of Birmingham Gardens ($499); Marks Point ($516); Windale ($529); and Blackalls Park ($532).
Belle Property's head of property Danielle MacAskill said homes for rent in Eleebana are in-demand due to the low percentage of rentals in the area.
"Just under 10 per cent of properties in Eleebana are rental properties, so there is less availability," Ms MacAskill said.
Demand in the area is also due to its popularity with families.
"East Lake Macquarie is very popular amongst families due to the type of properties in the areas, very dense with houses, as opposed to units and families are drawn to the area due to the great reputation of the locals schools," she said.
"Another drawcard is the fact that is close enough to Newcastle CBD while still being far enough to have some sanctuary away form the hustle and bustle of the city."
She said properties for lease are spending an average of just 13 days on market in Lake Macquarie, adding that demand is "absolutely" driving rental prices up.
"While there is demand for rental properties, the prices will increase," she said.
Rental values in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie continue to rise, with the region emerging as the third most expensive rental market in regional NSW, the CoreLogic report also revealed.
The median rent value in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie is $621 per week, making it the third-most expensive regional NSW rental market behind Richmond Tweed ($710 per week) and Illawarra ($663 per week).
Overall, rental values in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie recorded an increase of 1.6 per cent over the last thee months.
This was the fourth highest increase of sub-regions in regional NSW, according to CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen, and takes the region's annual rent growth to 5.5 per cent in the past 12 months.
However, Ms Owen said the annual pace of rent growth has slowed markedly from 10.6 per cent in the year prior to March 2022.
"This may reflect a normalisation in migration trends from regions to cities, where the flow of migration from regional Australia to capital cities has started to lift post lockdowns," Ms Owen said.
"This could take some pressure off regional rents, while contributing to momentum in the cities."
"While rental market conditions are still tight across the region, and demand has increased, supply levels are slightly higher than where they were this time last year," Ms Owen said.
"The March rental vacancy rate across the region was 1.2 per cent, up from 0.9 per cent in March 2022, and total rent listings were 798 over the month which is up from 753 this time last year.
CoreLogic's Quarterly Rental Review shows that after easing through the second half of 2022, the country's quarterly rental growth trend reaccelerated through the March quarter, with the national rental index rising 2.5 per cent, up from 2.0 per cent in the December quarter.
Demand pressures have compounded the pace of rental growth in Australia, as rents reaccelerated and vacancy rates tightened to a near record low of 1.1 per cent in the first three months of 2023.
