When Katharine Meinert moved to the Gold Coast for work, she had no idea it would be so hard to find somewhere to live.
The South African's first experience of Australia has been dampened by an ongoing struggle to find accommodation in the Gold Coast's tight rental market.
She has a job lined up in the city's hospitality industry, an industry that relies on international workers, but nowhere to live.
Along with many other overseas visitors and locals, Ms Meinert has turned to a share accommodation platform rather than applying through rental agencies.
"It kind of reminded me of Tinder," she said.
"Going through all these profiles, making your own profile.
"I've sent so many messages [and] only a small portion of people reply."
'People keep ghosting'
British woman Georgia Haynes has had a similar experience.
After living in Melbourne in recent years, Ms Haynes and her Spanish partner Juan Manuel Paramio Gonzalez have sent more than 150 messages on share house platforms and Facebook groups in a bid to secure accommodation.
"It's been a nightmare," Ms Haynes said.
"It's been very stressful, especially with rent being so high — the ghosting thing keeps happening," she said.
The international workers said despite the stress and lack of success so far, using a share accommodation app was still an easier option than applying for a lease through a real estate agency.
"We're trying to not go down that route," Ms Haynes said.
"With those (real estate agencies), you've got to have a lot of stuff in place. When we've just arrived, we can't really give that."
High demand
Share accommodation platform Flatmates.com.au found demand outweighs supply on its app, with approximately 17 people looking for a room, per room available across the Gold Coast.
But that was significantly higher in some suburbs, with up to 70 people looking for a room in Miami in December, per room available.
The platform also found average weekly rent for a room in beachside suburbs like Mermaid Beach and Burleigh Heads was about $320.
Suburb |
Average weekly room rent |
Demand vs supply ratio |
|---|---|---|
Mermaid Beach |
$321 |
50:1 |
Miami |
$297 |
70:1 |
Burleigh Heads |
$317 |
42:1 |
Surfers Paradise |
$320 |
47:1 |
Tough competition
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) found the Gold Coast's rental vacancy rate for the June quarter was 0.5 per cent.
"This is the tightest it has ever been," real estate agent and chairman of the Gold Coast zone of the REIQ, Andrew Henderson, said.
"The market has very limited supply, especially in those more affordable price brackets."
The tough competition disadvantages international workers who do not have an Australian rental history or may not have months of pay slips to provide.
"It can make it difficult in those situations, especially in our market," Mr Henderson said.
"The person with the good rental history, the affordability to cover the rent, definitely has a very big head start over someone who doesn't have rental history, may have not yet secured a job."
Mr Henderson said people who find a room through a share accommodation platform often become "approved tenants" rather than having to apply for a lease.
He said Gold Coast agents had seen an increase in "approved tenants" across the city, which benefited both the person looking for a room and the person offering a room.
"Rents have gone up so leasing out that room that people have sitting spare, or as an office, has become a way for them to cover any rent increases," he said.
