Rental Vacancy Rates Plummet: Why Competition is Fierce on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast rental market has reached a crisis point, with vacancy rates plummeting to a mere 0.8% in some suburbs, leaving would-be tenants scrambling to secure a property.

This matters now because the tourism recovery is in full swing, and with it, a surge in demand for short-term and long-term rentals. Downsizers, too, are driving up demand, as they seek to capitalise on the lifestyle premium that comes with living on the Gold Coast. The result is a perfect storm that's pushing up rents and making it tougher for renters to find a place to call home.

In areas like Main Beach and Surfers Paradise, the competition is particularly fierce, with renters often applying for multiple properties at once in the hopes of snagging a lease. The Gold Coast Hospital and Griffith University are also major drivers of demand, with students and medical staff seeking accommodation in nearby suburbs like Southport and Parkwood. Organisations like the Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government's Department of Housing are working to address the issue, but for now, renters are facing an uphill battle.

Rental Market Data

According to data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, the median rent for a three-bedroom house on the Gold Coast is now $650 per week, up 10% from this time last year. In some suburbs, like Mermaid Beach and Miami, rents are as high as $900 per week for a similar property. The latest figures from CoreLogic show that the rental vacancy rate in the Gold Coast suburb of Broadbeach is just 0.5%, with only 15 properties available for rent as of June 2026.

So what happens next? For renters, the advice is to be prepared to act fast when a property becomes available, and to be flexible with their expectations. For the Gold Coast City Council, the focus will be on approving new developments and initiatives that address the supply-side of the equation, such as the proposed redevelopment of the former Southport Hospital site into a mixed-use precinct. As the market continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the rental vacancy rate crisis on the Gold Coast is far from over.