Gunnedah postcode’s has been classed as ‘moderately unaffordable’ for its rentals according to the 11th annual National Shelter-SGS Economics and Planning Rental Affordability Index’s map.
A Rental Affordability Index Score (RAI) is an indicator of affordability in alignment with household incomes.
It is based on the 30/40 rule, which is when rent exceeds 30 per cent of gross income, a low income household is considered in housing stress.
A score of 100 means the household is paying 30 per cent of income to rent. Less than 100 can be considered rental stress.
The 2380 postcode is in the category above this with its RAI score is 118 for the average rental income by household, which means households are less likely to meet and pay unexpected costs or bills easily according to the report’s interactive map.
At the same time last year (Q2) this score was 115 while in 2023 it was considered ‘acceptable’ with a score of 126.
Neighbouring postcodes of 2340 (Tamworth area) have a score of 119, while 2390 (Narrabri area) just makes it into the ‘acceptable’ category with a score of 122.
The report found regional NSW is considered less affordable than Sydney, which has now shown stabilisation. The average renting household in Sydney is now spending exactly 30 per cent of income on rent. Despite this, it still depends on where people live within the city.
The index found the ‘Rest of NSW’ affordability declined two per cent during the past year, reaching a Rental Affordability Index (RAI) score of 99 – below the critical threshold where households enter rental stress.
“Regional NSW once provided a reservoir of rental affordability when compared to Sydney. Sadly, that’s no longer true,” said Shelter NSW CEO, John Engeler.
The report found that acceptable to very affordable rents are now largely restricted to
rural and remote areas with limited access to services. Regional centres including Bathurst, Orange, Tamworth and Dubbo, previously considered acceptable, are now moderately unaffordable.