Aussie man's Facebook inbox highlights dire state of rental crisis
When a Sydney man posted an ad on Facebook looking for a housemate, he had no idea the response he would get, and a single look at his inbox shows the extent of the current rental crisis.
In a video shared on TikTok, the man said he received as many as 133 messages from people about the spare room just in one day, and it was only then he "realised how bad it is".
The man claimed the room — based in the inner-city suburb of Surry Hills — "isn’t ridiculously cheap" so he was surprised by how many responses he got. In the video, the Sydneysider scrolls through his inbox showing a seemingly endless amount of enquiries from potential tenants.
"It wasn’t until I posted this ad today for my housemate’s room that I realised how bad it is" he is heard saying in the video."Look how many there are, just coming through today."
Not knowing how he will pick a future housemate, he came up with a bizarre method which he compared to "some sort of Squid Game thing". He decided to use an online game of marbles to narrow down his options "because there’s like 120 people who need a house," he said.
He explained the top three "marbles" — each with a name of a potential tenant —will get an interview, and of those one will get the room. "Is this happening all over?" he asked. "Why am I doing this?"
Dozens of Aussies priced out of market
He's not the only one who's witnessed such a demand in Sydney. Last month, another man expressed his frustration after struggling to find a suitable home. He told Yahoo News Australia he was "priced out" of the market, and with every inspection, there were dozens who were interested. Not only that but the winning bidder always offered more than the asking price making it more difficult.
But the issue isn't exclusive to Sydney, as many on TikTok pointed out. Other major cities are facing the same high demand and soaring prices.
Australia-wide crisis
"Yup, literally the entire country," one person commented. "Yeah it’s like this on the Gold Coast too," said another. "So, so hard to find a place because there are so many people applying."
One person said Perth is experiencing the same although "maybe not as bad". "I had 80 people wanting to rent my apartment offering like $250 over the asking price," they said, adding "It was stressful".
Others expressed their concern for the rising rent prices with the original poster also fearful his own rent will go up. "I’m genuinely nervous my landlord sees this and puts our rent up, and I have to leave," he said. "It’s almost as if the entire market has been set up for the benefit of the landlord at the expense of the people," another stated.
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