Kimberley rental crisis expected to regress as tourists, workers flock to region for dry season

Experts are warning the Kimberley rental crisis will again be exacerbated by the coming dry season’s influx of tourists and workers, flocking to the region after WA’s hard border was lifted. Currently, during what is considered the quiet season there are only 28 properties available to rent in Broome on realestate.com.au. It’s a number which will drastically decrease in the months ahead, according to REIWA Kimberley chairman Tony Hutchinson, who said he expected another tough year for renters. “Rentals will be harder to find as a lot of hospitality workers come to Broome around Easter time,” he said. “There is also a lot of demand for rentals in Derby and that’s pretty consistent throughout much of regional WA from Albany to Kununurra. “A lot of people are being forced into the sales market and buying because they can’t find anywhere to rent and it’s only going to get worse now the borders are open and people don’t have to isolate.” This was echoed by REIWA president Damian Collins who said on Tuesday the lifting of the State’s border restrictions would mean locals would be forced to compete with interstate and overseas arrivals for accommodation. “This will exacerbate the rental shortage in the short term but is a necessary step towards increasing investment in the State, attracting skilled workers to help complete construction and bringing balance back to the market.” Mr Hutchinson also said despite growth in new dwelling approvals, a desperate shortage of tradespeople meant there would be a lag before the number of dwellings increased. “There’s supply chain, labour and cost issues due to COVID so you can’t just bang out a whole bunch of new houses,” he said. Another historic issue for North West property owners was the high Shire rates and insurance premiums. “You’re looking at Peppermint Grove prices and insurance is also going through the roof which is definitely putting people off owning a rental property,” he said. Hutchinson said the answer to the problem is a simple one — more housing needs to be built. “Nobody has built much over the last few years because the market was going down in combination with nothing being added to it, in both the private and public sector,” he said. “We need to get more multi-residential sites and more blocks of units, that will go a long way towards helping solve the issue.”