Aretha was excited to move into their first share house in Melbourne's north-east in January this year.
The 22-year-old university student was looking forward to living with friends, saving money and building a rental history after previously living in student housing.
But only a couple of weeks after moving in – Aretha and their three housemates were notified they would have to vacate their Fairfield share house because the owner wanted to renovate the property.
They were left scrambling to find a new place to live – they have to be out of the place by mid-March.
To those familiar with share housing, it is not a new scenario.
But with an overheated rental market resulting in skyrocketing prices and intense competition at inspections, Aretha said the search to find a new place had been gruelling.
"I work in hospo so I work uncertain hours, and on weekends, so it's hard to make it to all the inspections," Aretha said.
They said they had applied for more than 30 places.
"I know some people have been applying for more," they said.
Aretha said they suspect many rentals that were within their budget – were probably going to people who were offering more money, even though rent bidding is illegal in Victoria.
"We went to a viewing the other day, and we could hear the real estate agent and one of the people viewing the house whispering, I think they were asking, 'what if I offered this much?'"
'Landlord's market' across Australia
Melbourne's vacancy rate decreased to a new record low of 0.8 per cent in February — almost three times lower than last year, according to data from real estate portal Domain.
The Victorian capital has also seen the greatest annual fall in rental listings, down 64 per cent annually.
That means Melbourne's rental market is now tighter than Sydney's.
The trend is replicated across the country, with the national vacancy rate holding at 0.8 per cent, the lowest point on record.
The February market report from Domain describes the situation as a "landlords' market" across all capital cities, with vacant listings down 33 per cent since this time last year.
Last month, there was a small (0.1 per cent) improvement in the rental vacancy rate in Hobart, while no changes were reported in Adelaide and Perth.
But in Australia's three biggest capital cities, which all have significant student populations, vacancy rates have plummeted.
A recent decision from China's Ministry of Education banning citizens from studying online at foreign universities has seen international students caught in the squeeze, with as many as 40,000 students predicted to return to Australia and searches from China for rentals jumping by 87 per cent since December.
It follows reports of rising demand for share houses as tenants grapple with rising rents and cost of living increases.
Online share housing platform Flatmates.com.au said there was strong uptake of new members in February year-on-year, despite being a shorter month.
A spokesperson for Flatmates said 63,000 new members joined up in February, highlighting the massive return to share accommodation compared to the same time last year.
Census data shows more 20-24 year olds living with parents
One of Aretha's housemates has already decided to move back in with their parents, and the latest data shows the proportion of young Australians living at home is rising.
Figures from the 2021 census show 47.3 per cent of 20-24 year olds were living with parents on census night, an increase of four per cent since the previous census in 2016.
The proportion of Australians living with parents increased across other age brackets too.
Senior research fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Lixia Qu said the latest census data demonstrated a trend of younger people staying at home for longer.
"It's difficult for young people to be financially independent and secure nowadays, they are doing a part-time or full-time job while studying and are juggling lots of things."
"Housing is potentially one factor, because of the rent increases."
The pandemic has also had an impact, with as many as one in five young people moving home during the pandemic.
Dr Qu said younger people returning or staying home longer also reflects broader cultural shifts where so-called "traditional" milestones, like moving in with a partner or having a children, were happening later in life.
The data also showed in the 20-24 age group, young women, or those from regional areas, were more likely to be living out of home.
51 per cent of men in that age group were living with parents on census night, compared to 43 per cent of young women.
But living with parents isn't an option for everyone.
"I'm not from Melbourne originally, which means if I do go back home to the country I will lose my job and have to drop out of my course," Aretha said.
Aretha does have some family in Melbourne they were hoping to stay with if things got dire.
"Worst-case scenario I won't be on the street homeless, but I'll be couch-surfing."
After searching since January — and giving up on securing a new place with friends — Aretha finally secured a room in an existing share house in early March.
"It’s a good place, but a bit out of my budget and quite far out, but I can’t really be picky right now," they said.
They said the whole process had been extremely frustrating.
"Housing is a human right. I should be able to find something within my budget to live."
