Werribee has been ranked one of Melbourne’s most affordable suburbs for renters, with a median house rental price of $280 per week.
Data compiled by Domain and released last week revealed that Werribee was the fourth- cheapest suburb in which to rent a house.
Melton and Melton South offer Melbourne’s most affordable house rentals at $260 a week, followed by Frankston North ($270) and Kurunjang ($275).
Werribee was also the metropolitan area’s fifth-most-affordable suburb for unit rentals, with median prices averaging $260 a week.
Melbourne’s least affordable suburb for renters was Toorak, where median weekly house rental prices are $900.
Domain senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said Melbourne’s most affordable house rents were predominantly located in growth areas in the outer western suburbs, where there was little difference between house and unit rents.
He said the shrinking gap between house and unit rents was a worrying trend. “It’s a sign people are being forced to change their choices about where they live and what they live in,” he said.
In May, welfare agency Anglicare released a rental affordability snapshot that found families were being forced to live in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. The report found that couples on the minimum wage with two dependant children were priced out of the rental market in the inner suburbs.
Anglicare principal researcher Dr Tatiana Corrales said families were being forced to choose between living in outer suburbs or staying close to the city in inadequate housing they couldn’t afford.
Domain’s data also shows Point Cook is Wyndham’s least affordable suburb. Median rental prices for houses were $370 a week,
$90 more than in Werribee. Unit rents were $325 per week.
Rents in Hoppers Crossing were $300 a week for houses and $270 for units, while renters in Tarneit pay $320 a week for a house and $300 for a unit. In Truganina, median weekly house rents were also $320, but unit prices were $10 a
week higher.
