Geelong resident works full-time and has own business but still can't afford a rental

Freya O'Connell has a full-time job and her own small business, yet she can't find a place to live in Geelong's overwhelmed rental market. Key points: Demand for rental properties in Geelong is outweighing the supply It is becoming common to lease houses before construction has finished The rental crisis hit an unprecedented level in the September 2022 quarter Three weeks ago, Ms O'Connell was told she had until the end of February to move out of her Mount Duneed home because her landlords would be moving into the property. Geelong's record rental unaffordability has left Ms O'Connell facing a "last resort" of moving in with her partner of one year, despite his current home having barely enough room for the couple, a child and two dogs. Ms O'Connell said renters such as herself were being left "no other choice" but to make difficult decisions, such as squeezing into undersized homes or offering to pay above advertised rental prices – despite those prices already sitting at record levels. "You'll see this ripple of this rental stress sort of spreading across regional Victoria over the next six to twelve months unfortunately," Regional Australia Institute chief economist Kim Houghton said. "