The cost of rent continues to rise in our patch, and might not fall for some time yet.
A fresh Rent Report from Domain Group shows the median weekly rental price has increased right across Central Victoria in the past 12 months.
That includes the City of Greater Bendigo, where tenants are now paying an average of $530 dollars per week (p/w) for houses, and $420 for units.
Those figures are up $40 p/w compared to March 2025.
Rises were also seen in the Central Goldfields (up $10 p/w compared to this time last year), Hepburn ($50 p/w) and Mount Alexander Shire ($56 p/w).
A council that experienced a fall in its rent price was the Macedon Ranges Shire, with the median value there down $10 p/w compared to a year ago.
But at $600 p/w, it remains the third-most expensive area for tenants in regional Victoria.
According to Domain’s National Property Editor Alice Stolz, the rental market is at a “tension point” nationwide with most tenants at the “ceiling” of what they can reasonably afford.
“Regional Victoria’s rental market is still under incredible pressure at the moment,” Ms Stolz says.
“Tenants there are facing incredibly low vacancy rates, and they’re also experiencing further rises in rents.”
She added that any changes to tax structure by the federal government could see more investors pulling out of the market.
“If that happens, we are likely to see… increasingly tighter vacancy rates and potentially further rate increases.”
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