12:00a.m. 15th October 2008

| By Toby Walker

Sharp rental fee increases in Caloundra over the past 12 months have put the southern seaside town on a par with Noosa as the most expensive place to rent on the Sunshine Coast.

The Residential Tenancy Authority’s most recent median rental price figures have shown significant jumps in almost all styles of accommodation across Queensland, leading housing minister Robert Schwarten to declare the private rental market in crisis.

Ipswich, Mount Isa, Kingaroy and Townsville took some of the hardest hits in terms of single category price hikes but on the Coast the biggest rises were seen around Caloundra.

Across the Coast the median price for a one-bedroom flat rose from $200 a week to $230 a week but in Caloundra it went almost three times higher, from $200 to $286.

Coast-wide, the median cost of a two-bedroom house went up from $260 to $290 but a larger than expected increase saw prices skyrocket from $250 to $300 in Caloundra to make it the most expensive.

Noosa was still the most expensive place to rent a two-bedroom flat or a four-bedroom house, but although it still topped the price category for three-bedroom flats the weekly rent on one in Noosa actually decreased from $380 to $360.

The only category in which Maroochydore aligned itself with its northern and southern neighbours was for a two-bedroom townhouse, with all three localities seeing a uniform rise from $255 to $300 between September, 2007, and September, 2008.

Catherine Nock and her family have just started to unpack boxes in their new Pelican Waters home after enduring a six-month rental battle.

Over four years the rent on the Nocks’ spacious three-bedroom Currimundi home had only risen by a total of $45 to $395 a week.

Ms Nock admitted they had been lucky to not have experienced greater increases in that time and were surprised when they realised what their money would get them in the current rental climate.

“I’ve had some friends who have had increases of $35 every time the owner of their property has put the rent up,” she said.

“Trying to find a house at $360 a week after four years out of the market was impossible, we simply could not do it.

“The problem we found was there were probably about eight to 10 families going for each property we had a look at and usually $390 per week was for a tiny home.

“But when so many families are going for it then you expect the agent to call you to say they’ve received an offer of an extra $30 a week on the rent from one of those families hoping they can be sure to secure it for themselves for 12 months.”