Brisbane North

A widely accepted measure of affordable housing says that if your rent costs less than 30 per cent of your gross income, or a third of your working week, you’re doing OK. Comparing ABS data on average full-time earnings with RP Data figures on median rents shows how many hours on average it takes for a full-time worker to make their rent in each state.

QLD
House rent: $385 (takes 11.2 hours to earn)
Unit rent: $350 (takes 10.2 hours to earn)
Average weekly salary: $1370 ($34.25 per hour)

Australians for Affordable Housing also looked at the average salary of each job and analysed which workers must spend more than 30 per cent of their income in order to afford the median rents in each capital city. In Queensland, less than one in 10 professions pay salaries that can cover median capital city rents by spending less than 30 per cent of the pay cheque.

Eight professions (sales, marketing and public relations professionals; architects, designers, planners and surveyors; air and marine transport professionals; machine operators; stationary plant operators; mechanical engineering trades workers; building and engineering technicians and engineering professionals) can cover the median capital city rent for a unit

In Queensland just five professions (health therapy professionals; engineering professionals; financial brokers and dealers, and investment advisers; air and marine transport professionals; medical practitioners) can cover median capital city rents for houses and units.

Here are some stats from QPZM.com.au about Clayfield on Brisbane’s North-side:

65.8% of the people living in Clayfield are employed full time, 25.9% are working on a part time basis.

Clayfield has an unemployment rate of 3.7%. The main occupations of people from Clayfield are Professionals 33.1%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 16.8%, Managers 13.7%, Sales Workers 9.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 8.7%, Technicians and Trades Workers 7.8%, Labourers 5.7%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 3%.

The median individual income is $838.00 per week and the median household income is $1537.00 per week. 24.9% of homes are fully owned, and 27.7% are in the process of being purchased by home loan mortgage.

45.2% of homes are rented. The median rent in Clayfield is $320 per week and the median mortgage repayment is $2167 per month.

Source: www.qpzm.com.au and www.couriermail.com.au

With demand so high for quality rental properties these days, it’s not uncommon to be one of several applying for one rental property.  It therefore pays to have some hints from people like us, whose job it is to help our client (the landlord) select the best applicant to reside in their property.

It’s all about standing out from the crowd on the day of inspection and on paper.  Here are our tips to shine:

1. Look presentable – first impressions are lasting ones and the way you present yourself is seen as a reflection of the way you keep your home.
2. Keep children at bay or don’t bring them along – we know it’s natural for children to be excited when inspecting what could be their new home.  Many of us here have kids and we’ve all been kids ourselves.  But often children will become a little over-excited and wear and tear is a key consideration of every landlord when selecting the most suitable tenant for their property.  Well-behaved children will do wonders for your application.  If in doubt that your children will behave on the day, arrange for them to be looked after while you inspect the property.
3. Complete all the paperwork – we see so many applications where details that should have been completed have been missed.  Our advice to you is to fill out every part of the application – don’t leave anything blank.  The agent needs contact names and phone numbers and the property owner wants to know your story in order to assess if you are the best applicant to tenant their property.
4. Bring 100 points of ID – this ensures the agent can correctly identify you on the day. Click on the link for details on acceptable forms of ID to make up the required 100 points.
5. Attach a covering letter – not everyone does this, therefore it’s your chance to stand out from the crowd.  The purpose of the covering letter is to highlight a bit about yourself and your family to the landlord.  Outline things like the school/s your children attend, what you do, where you work and why you would like to lease this particular property.
6. Attach references – always include references from previous landlords, agents or, if you haven’t rented before, financial institution records – anything that shows a sound payment history and/or character reference.  Your ability and willingness to pay the rent on time is number one on any landlord’s list of priorities.

For more tips on how to secure your next Rental property faster, contact Clark Real Estate on 07 3256 1600.