# Sydney Rental Housing Question



## SWE_Geoff (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi All,

I have a question for all you local Sydney folk...We will be relocating to Sydney in two weeks and I have been searching all the rental housing sites (domain.com.au, realestate.com.au, gumtree.com.au) looking for a new place to live. There seems to be plenty of apartment rental options but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of houses; my wife would like a small house with a backyard for our two boys (in Sydney east or northern beaches areas). 

My question is: Is it common for rental properties to be advertised via a sign in the front yard/window and therefore not advertised via the online sites? I ask because this is a popular method used in Denver, Colorado. Some of the best rental opportunities are found by "cruising" the neighbourhoods and call the number posted on the sign.

Thanks in advance!

Geoff


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

Sydney has one of the most expensive rental markets in the world. Your budget or max that you are putting in the domain search engine probably doesn't correspond with what they rent for which in most cases is a couple thousand pcm minimum. If you want a nice house in the Northern Beaches you probably would want to spend no less than 600-700 per week to 1000+

In answer to your question though the answer is no. I very rarely ever saw for Let signs in Australia.


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## shussel (Feb 18, 2011)

Hi,

We moved to Sydney just over a year ago (family of four), I also wanted a house rather than an apartment. We used the same websites you've mentioned to search for a property, and then as we got to know the agents went to them direct. During the time we were looking, I think I saw two properties that had private signs up rather than being with an agent. And both properties were more holiday lets than long term rental properties.

We ended up moving to the South Eastern Suburbs - you'll need to pay $700 - $1,000 for a good quality house, but could pay much more if you've got very specific criteria.

We looked at about 40 properties before finding what we wanted. My main piece of advice is to allow time to look around properties, and be prepared to extend your search area. Property viewings aren't usually by appointment here (like in the UK), you have to wait until the property open day. Then, if you like it, you need to get your application in quick because there will be other interest on the day. We created an application pack (cover letter explaining employment situations, references etc) that we had ready to go as soon as we found somewhere we liked.

Good luck!


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## dunsford5678 (Mar 30, 2010)

SWE_Geoff said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I have a question for all you local Sydney folk...We will be relocating to Sydney in two weeks and I have been searching all the rental housing sites (domain.com.au, realestate.com.au, gumtree.com.au) looking for a new place to live. There seems to be plenty of apartment rental options but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of houses; my wife would like a small house with a backyard for our two boys (in Sydney east or northern beaches areas).
> 
> ...


There are loads of such houses for rent in the northern beaches - I think domain.com is the easiest way to search a whole region such as northern beaches. The eastern suburbs however is medium density and an older area and there isn't too much in the way of yards. They are mostly terrace houses (attached) with tiny yards.

Pretty much anything that is available is posted on one or more of those websites, 'for let' signs are extremely rare.

Make sure you don't have any price restrictions on your search and you'll find the houses, as the others said Sydney real estate is very expensive, and the eastern suburbs the most expensive of the lot.


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## SWE_Geoff (Mar 17, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your replies. I appreciate the insight!

Shussel - you looked at 40 houses?! I hope it doesn't come to that for us . I assume your children are in school. Are they in public or private? What was the best resource you used to find out about the reputations of the different schools?


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## shussel (Feb 18, 2011)

Hi,

Re. schools, we have chosen a Catholic school (we're not Catholic but have a Christian background). The My School website is a good starting point to research schools but I found the only way to really find out about reputations was to visit the local area and speak to other parents. 

We're very happy with the Catholic education system, I think many parents find it a comfortable middle ground between public and independant private education.

All the best, Sarah


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## vrahul1984 (Aug 22, 2015)

shussel said:


> Hi,
> 
> Re. schools, we have chosen a Catholic school (we're not Catholic but have a Christian background). The My School website is a good starting point to research schools but I found the only way to really find out about reputations was to visit the local area and speak to other parents.
> 
> ...


thanks for sharing the useful information. i totally agree with Shussel. Catholic Schools are better & having excellent education system... Regards !


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