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A Queensland property manager has offered some insight into the mental and emotional toll that’s being shared by the profession and prospective tenants during the current rental squeeze.
Australia is in the thick of a severe rental crisis, with national vacancy rates continuously trending lower across the past six months.
These tightening rental conditions have been felt right through the real estate industry, from tenants and landlords to property managers; all parties involved in the tenancy process have felt the pinch and pressure the current climate has presented itself.
Breanna Kirby, senior property manager at Ray White Nerang, a Gold Coast suburb where vacancy rates have sat at 0.2 per cent since late 2020, has described the incredibly challenging and fast-paced situation in the region.
The current climate has seen rentals in Nerang securing tenants within a week and a half, although Ms Kirby outlined that this process would be quicker if it weren’t for the large volume of applications they receive, which can amount to up to 30 to 60 applications for a property asking for a weekly rent of $500 or below.
She has described the toughest challenge facing her team in this high-demand environment as “having that feeling of, not so much responsibility, but that feeling of wanting to help everybody and not being able to do so”.
“We feel for all the applicants that are out that are up against each other for these properties in these affordable price ranges,” she said.
“We have a lot of conversations with potential applicants wanting to know how best to put their foot forward for these properties … It really comes down to being prepared with the application process.”
Given that it’s a stressful and emotional time for applicants, repeat applications are often seen, with Ms Kirby revealing many prospective renters submit for three or four properties, even without the promise of securing a roof over their head.
These repeat applications often occur when renters are edging closer to the date they’re required to be out of their current property.
When it comes to helping these people through the process, whether it is successful or not, Ms Kirby said that Ray White Nerang sticks to a formula “of making sure the application that they’re making is for the right property as well”.
“We don’t want to make a bad situation even worse by approving tenants for a property [that] for all intents and purposes is probably outside the realms of their affordability,” she said.
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