Copyright news
Deals of the Week 10:06AMWednesday, October 22nd, 2025 In the know quiz Set your local weather Breaking News Courts & Law Courts & Law Courts & Law Courts & Law South Australia Western Australia Northern Territory Breaking News North America US Politics South America Middle East UK Politics Health Problems Mental Health Inspiration Weight Loss School Life Restaurants & Bars Food Warnings Relationships The Sealed Section Family & Friends Fashion Shows Fashion Trends Face & Body Cosmetic Surgery True Stories Lifestyle Videos Travel Ideas Short Breaks Food & Drinks Destinations North America New Zealand Middle East Central America South America Travel Advice Tips & Tricks Accommodation Australian Holidays Northern Territory South Australia Western Australia Travel Videos Entertainment Celebrity Life Hook Ups & Break ups Celebrity Photos Celebrity Kids Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Style What To Watch Morning Shows Current Affairs Upcoming Movies Movies Reviews Music Festivals Books & Magazines Golden Globes Entertainment Videos Social Media Mobile Phones Home Entertainment Archaeology Environment Climate Change Sustainability Natural Wonders Motoring News On the Road Technology Videos Cost of Living How to Save Salary Secrets Personal Finance Superannuation Australian Culture Power & Influence Inside Parliament Gig Economy Breaking News Manufacturing Other Industries Australian Economy World Economy Interest Rates Federal Budget Australian Markets World Markets Australian Dollar Cryptocurrency Real Estate Sydney & NSW Melbourne & VIC Adelaide & SA Cricket Live Scores V8 Supercars Sports Life American Sports Paralympics Horse Racing Expert Opinion More Sports Sport Videos Sales & Deals Home & Appliances Health & Wellbeing Real Estate ‘This country is cooked’: Rental ads from 2005 leave Aussies floored A throwback to the state of Sydney’s real estate landscape in 2005 has left Aussies reeling, with a series of advertisements showing just how much has changed. Ally Foster October 22, 2025 - 4:19PM Share via Email Share on Facebook Share on Whatsapp Escucha este artículo Copied URL to clipboard 'Sick of rich people hoarding empty houses' The 'Robin Hood of Renters', Jordan van der Lamb, is back at it again. Australia’s real estate landscape has changed dramatically in the recent years, with skyrocketing prices being easily biggest feature and sorest point for many Australians. Sydneysiders in particular have seen, not only house prices spiral to unfathomable levels -particularly for first homebuyers – but the rental market hasn’t fared much better. In fact, real estate advertisements from 2005 have shown exactly how difficult the rental crisis has gotten in just 20 years. A recent viral TikTok by user HarleyDash has highlighted multiple ads for rental properties in Sydney 20 years ago. The advertisements show the price of various rental properties in Sydney’s northwest in 2005. Picture: HarleyDash/TikTok The video sparked hundreds of comments from shocked Aussies. Picture: HarleyDash/TikTok MORE: Half of renters experiencing financial difficulties The advertisements show a number of homes located in Sydney’s northwest, such as a four-bedroom home in Bella Vista for $330 per week, a three-bedroom in Baulkham Hills for $310, a $280 weekly two-bedroom rental in Castle Hill and a $275 three-bedroom home in Kings Langley. Adjusted for inflation in 2025, these weekly prices would be $552, $518, $468 and $460, respectively, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s inflation calculator. However, a quick search on Realestate.com.au shows that a four-bedroom rental in Bella Vista will set you back around $1000 a week in 2025 and a three-bedroom home in Baulkham Hills can be anywhere from $720-$900 a week. A four-bedroom rental in Bella Vista will set you back around $1000 a week in 2025. Picture: Realestate.com.au A three-bedroom home in Baulkham Hills can be anywhere from $720-$900 a week. Picture: Realestate.com.au MORE: Dirty truth behind horror living conditions in rental homes A two-bedroom home in Castle Hill will cost anywhere from $620-$700 a week and a three-bedroom rental in Kings Langley will set you back around $700 a week. The TikTok post sparked hundreds of comments, with the vast majority stunned by the prices, though, there were a few people who were unsympathetic. “I mean alternately buy your own property and pay a mortgage instead of rent,” one person said, with another commenter agreeing, writing, “That’s why you buy a house”. One added: ‘Investors who work hard, save and invest deserve the returns.” However, plenty of commenters were quick to hit back at these claims, with one person branding them “hilariously delusional”. A two-bedroom rental in Castle Hill will cost anywhere from $620-$700 a week. Picture: Realestate.com.au A three-bedroom rental in Kings Langley will set you back around $700 a week. Picture: Realestate.com.au “Like yeah no worries I’ll just save a deposit while having to pay $1000+ a fortnight in rent, be serious,” they said. “I remember when my mum used to pay $290 a week for a three bed and separate garage in western Sydney. Now I am paying $735 for a four bed double garage 30 mins down the road,” another wrote. One person recalled how they purchased their first home in 2005 and had weekly mortgage repayments of $300, claiming it “felt like all the money in the world” at the time. Another person nearing retirement age claimed they were “terrified” they won’t be able to afford rent. Others branded the current rental crisis “crazy” and “ludicrous”, with multiple people blaming surging prices on “greed”. “Anything under $600PW comes with black mould and landlord special paint jobs. This country is cooked,” another said. One added: “It’s so sad and a problem Australia wide.” The median weekly rent across Sydney is now over $800, a 3.5 per cent increase from last year, with the national figure rising 4.3 per cent to $672 in the past 12 months, according to Coality. Vacancy rates have also tightened across the country, now sitting at around 1.5 per cent, down from 1.9 per cent last year. Sydney’s real estate landscape has changed dramatically since. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Earlier this year, the 2025 REA Group Rental Affordability report found rental affordability in Australia had hit its lowest level since 2008. In the six months from July to December 2024, households across the income distribution could afford to rent the smallest share of advertised rentals since at least 2008, the PropTrack Rental Affordability Index shows. “While rents grew slower in 2024 than in 2023, growth in rents still outstripped income growth, which has further worsened already challenging rental affordability,” the report stated. “The current alarming state of rental affordability is a substantial deterioration from conditions before and during the pandemic.” This isn’t the first time Sydney’s changing real estate landscape has been in the spotlight, with a video showcasing middle and working class Australians from 50 years ago recently shining a brutal light on the differences between home ownership in 2025. In August 1975, ABC’s Four Cornersaired an episode highlighting disparity between the classes by visiting the homes of families living in different areas of Sydney. A part of the episode has been widely shared online this week, showing a family of eight living in Mount Druitt, the Van Der Voorts. Copied URL to clipboard Video of 'working class' family in 1975 goes viral A video showing a 'working class' family... Unsurprisingly, the part that has caught everyone’s attention is the details of this “working class” family’s financial situation. “When this house in Mount Druitt was bought 12 years ago, it cost just over $6000 and the mortgage repayments are a mere $31 a month,” the video stated. Adjusted for inflation, $6000 in the 1960s would be the equivalent of buying a home for around $96,500 in 2025, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s inflation calculator. Monthly mortgage repayments of $31 in 1975 would be equal to $269.53 today. The episode went on to reveal that 45-year-old mechanic Case Van Der Voort brings in a salary of $8500 a year, equal to $73,902.04 today, and his wife Nelly, 40, also had a full time job at a factory. The couple supported their six children, aged between 8 and 19. Later in the episode, Mr Van Der Voort described his family as “normal working class people”. The clip re-emerged online a few months ago, immediately going viral across multiple platforms as it highlighted just how much the ‘Great Australian Dream’ of homeownership has changed. The detail that stuck out the most to people was the fact that the home was less than Mr Van Der Voorts’ salary. “Don’t even need to adjust for inflation. The purchase price was less than his annual income,” one person said. More Coverage Dream salary now a ‘minimum’ requirement Ally Foster ‘Cooked’: Line of 92 people enrages Aussies Ally Foster “This crisis was depressing enough already, and then I realised that the house even cost less than his annual salary, then it became a whole level of depressing I had not yet experienced,” another wrote. One added: “Imagine, just one year of your wage, you own a house. Live off the missus wage for one year. Done. Now we gotta save for 10 years just for the deposit get a 40 year loan on a house well almost never own.” A commenter pointed out that, even adjusted for inflation, their monthly mortgage repayments were less than most people pay in weekly rent, with another branding it “just insanity”. Read related topics:Sydney More related stories Real Estate ‘Ridiculous’: horror rate cut news for homeowners Interest rates are set to plummet over the next 12 months, according to one of Australia’s leading economists and perversely that could spell plenty of bad news. Real Estate Fresh blow: October figure that’ll change RBA call October is set to be a make and break month for Australians as new figures are set to change everything about the property market. Real Estate Revealed: 99% of Brisbane investor homes sold at profit Almost every rental home sold in Brisbane over the last year was sold for a profit, as the affordability divide grows between renters and investors. Registration In The Know Quiz Newsletters Competitions Welcome to news.com.au Code of Conduct Help and Support General Feedback Advertise with us Standards of Practice Licensing & Reprints Our News Network The Daily Telegraph The Courier Mail Our Partners realestate.com.au CODE Sports A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out.Sometimes our articles will try to help you find the right product at the right price. We may receive payment from third parties for publishing this content or when you make a purchase through the links on our sites. Privacy policy Relevant ads opt-out Cookie policy Terms of use Nationwide News Pty Ltd © 2025. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Powered by WordPress.com VIP More stories before you go
