Rents for one and two-bedroom units in certain Sydney LGAs are increasing by as much as 11.8%, according to newly released research. Read on to discover the areas where rents are going through the roof.

According to PRDnationwide’s Rental Market Overview for Sydney’s unit market, there are several LGAs where double digit annual rental growth is taking place. These include 2-bed units in the Campbelltown (12.6%), 1-bed units in Canterbury (11.8%) and two-bed units in Fairfield (11.4%).

"Savvy investors are attuned to the changing preferences of renters and recognise the growing rental markets in the middle and outer suburbs of the metropolitan area," said PRDnationwide research analyst Oded Reuveni-Etzioni. "Investment opportunities also exist in areas outside the metropolitan area, where strong demand and limited supply of units maintains the pressure on rent prices."

And with the Ku-Ring-Gai LGA recording the highest growth in demand for units – with a 22.6% average annual increase in new bonds over the past five years – he added that “this indicates a shift in tenant demand from inner to middle and outer parts of Sydney Metropolitan Area”.

“The number of bonds held in the Ku-Ring-Gai LGA more than doubled since 2006," he said.

The Cessnock and Maitland LGAs also saw a strong increase in demand for units, with Cessnock showing strong growth in the total number of bonds held and Maitland showing an average annual growth in median rents for two-bed units of 10%.

"The growth stems from large infrastructure projects that draw a transient population of construction workers, and from mining employees relocating to the Hunter and choosing to rent in the short term," said Reuveni-Etzioni.

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