Rents fall in Sydney's most affordable suburbs

The increased housing supply and the slow pace of wage growth have taken their toll on Sydney's rental market, shrinking rents in the most affordable suburbs, according to the latest report from Domain.

Suburbs in the city's west and southwest regions posted the most significant declines over the year to September. Domain research analyst Eliza Owen said these regions had seen a lot of development and investor activity.

"Those are the investor markets, they're the big rental markets, and we're still somewhat in that overhang period where a lot of people bought investment properties, and there weren’t necessarily the tenants to fill them," she said.

Median rents declined in nine of the 10 most affordable suburbs, hitting as low as $310 for houses and $290 for units.

St. Marys reported the most significant decline in rents for units at 14.3%, bringing its weekly rent to $300. The suburb lost its appeal due to the oversupply in Penrith, a neighbouring suburb.

"There are apartments in Penrith and St Marys where no one will show up for weeks at a time. There's not just competition from properties within your suburb, but competition with the better version of your suburb," Tom Turner, head of property management at Raine & Horne St. Marys, told Domain.

He said affordable suburbs were the hardest hit by the downturn due to tenants being able to break into the housing market as housing conditions cooled.

The two tables below show the changes to the median rents in Sydney's cheapest suburbs: