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All Rents in Sydney Listed Below Are the Median Weekly Rent.
Not average and not monthly rents in Sydney.
Why use median instead of average when comparing rents in Sydney?
Let’s say you’re renting a small one-bedroom apartment in Sydney that is in the same postcode as Nicole Kidman who is also renting, but she is renting a very large, very expensive 10-bedroom house.
If we calculated the average rent for that postcode, it would account for both rentals even though they are at far opposite sides of the rental spectrum, therefore not giving a clear picture of what rents are for that postcode.
Since Nicole Kidman’s rental is so much more than your small one-bedroom apartment, it will skew the average to be higher.
(I know we could calculate the average of only one-bedroom apartments, but even then you would have at least one crazy high rental listing for something like a penthouse with a panoramic Sydney Harbour view that would skew the average. Sydney housing is very dense in some areas of the city and you get all kinds of housing, right next door to each other.)
Therefore, the NSW Communities and Justice Department reports median rents quarterly instead of average rents.
They calculate the median rents in Sydney by listing all rents in a specific postcode in ascending order, then locating the rent that falls in the middle of that distribution. Yes, the NSW Department of Communities and Justice reports the higher and lower rental spectrum of each Sydney postcode, but I’m going to keep it simple and only list that middle, median rent.
Why list weekly rents and not monthly rents for Sydney?
They advertise Sydney rentals by weekly, not monthly, as is common in the United States. I’m not sure why that is other than the monthly total is higher and listing the weekly rent dampens the shock. Well, at least until you realize that it’s weekly.
So when you look at Domain.com.au or Realestate.com.au, keep in mind that those listings are not monthly.
You will most likely be paying rent monthly. On some very rare occasions, you may be weekly, but that’s usually for full furnished apartments like service apartments hotels.
While we are here, let’s take a minute to make sure you’re calculating your monthly rent correctly.
Don’t make this mistake when estimating your monthly rent in Sydney.
Don't estimate your monthly rent by times the weekly listed rent by 4. For example, $550 a week x 4 weeks in a month = $2,200 monthly rent. This is not correct.
To calculate your monthly rent, you actually want to multiply your weekly rent by 52 because there are 52 weeks in a year. Then you divide by 12 to get your monthly rent.
Be sure you are sitting down when calculating the yearly rent.
Then there is your rental bond, or rental deposit, as we would call it in the States. Your rental bond will most likely be equal to one month's rent or more for fully furnished apartments.
Two months’ rent is a lot of money upfront just to move in. I didn’t even mention that rentals in Sydney rarely have a refrigerator or washer/dryer or parking.
If you're working on the budget for your move, then look at my post about saving up for your move to Sydney as there are a couple of shockers you need to plan for.
Median Weekly Rents in Sydney Listed by Neighborhood
I didn't include every neighborhood in Sydney. There are over 600 neighborhoods in Sydney, so I decide to only list more centrally located. Don’t worry, that’s still a long list.
The second table below is a more zoomed out view of Sydney.
Thinking about moving to an area of Sydney that is farther away from the city center? Then look at this table to get an idea of your median rental estimate.
Median weekly rents listed in both tables below are for apartments and houses combined.
I chose not to list rents for apartments and houses separately because it would end up being a very long post.
Table 1: Median Weekly Rents in Sydney by Neighborhood
Median Weekly Rents in Sydney Listed by Local Government Areas
I added the image below from Wikimedia Commons to help you with sorting out where it is in Sydney, since you might not be familiar with the local government areas yet.
Aucitypops at the English Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons
Table 2: Median Weekly Rents in Sydney by Local Government Areas
Next Step: Start Getting Your Paperwork Ready for Your Rental Application
Since you are moving to Sydney from overseas, securing a rental is going to be difficult for the first time because you will not have an Australian rental history.
I have a whole post about how to get around this and what the 100 Points of ID Check in Sydney is.
Is this your first time hearing about the 100 Point of ID Check when renting in Sydney?
Then you definitely need to read this post because you will need to pass the ID check or you will not be able to secure a rental in Sydney. No joke.
What Are You Shipping to Sydney When You Move? Do You Know Yet?
The truth is you don’t need to know right now, for sure, what’s going with you.
But you have to get your shipping quote ASAP, especially now.
Why? Because international shipping companies need to schedule your shipment to Australia far in advance, some ask for 6 months in advance. Yes, COVID has changed everything, including international shipping.
When filling out the form below…
- You don’t need a street address for where you’re moving to, only the city and country. What they really want to know is the major shipping port.
- You don’t need exact dates right now. Go with your best guess.
- Don’t bother with calculating your volume. Use one of the estimates below for your estimated volume.
- Studio or 1 Bedroom —> 20 m3
- 2 Bedroom —> 25 m3
- 3 Bedroom —> 30 m3
- 4 Bedroom or 3 Bedroom + Car —> 50 m3
- Use your “real” contact details for BOTH phone and email. Yes, the form is secure. If you don’t use your real contact details, then they can’t get in touch with you for your quote. Makes sense, right?
