Housing affordability in NSW has tightened with growing Dubbo-Orana among five impacted regions shown by rising rents

The region is not in such a bad situation though because the supply and demand for rental properties in Dubbo, which is 1.5 per cent is not as tight as Broken Hill at 0.42 per cent or Murray region at 0.43 per cent.

In these areas, Everybody's Home analysts using SQM Research's property data in Australia also revealed median rents went up to $390 or 14.5 per cent more than previous for a typical family home in the far west.

Everybody's Home analysis has ranked the five NSW regional centres most impacted by low rental vacancies - Dubbo to Broken Hill, Murray, Riverina (0.44 per cent), Wollongong (0.55 per cent) and Tamworth (0.55 per cent) that will continue to be "vulnerable to rent increases as landlords recoup the cost of rising interest rates".

"Renters are in for a seriously difficult time as landlords capitalise on historically low vacancy rates to shift the rising cost of interest rates onto their tenants," campaign spokesperson Kate Colvin said.

"After a decade of inaction on social and affordable housing from the previous government, we really are in a perfect storm. There are limited options for people who can't afford to buy but want to stay in their local community."

Property manager, Shayna Chapman, of Bob Berry Real Estate in Dubbo said that compared to other regional centres in NSW the rents in the region where the population is growing have "increased quite quickly" because the demand grows while renters ask for "flexible housing choices".

Her agency on Talbragar Street currently has a few places to rent out with weekly rents ranging from $330 to more than $400 per week for a three-bedroom while a one-bedroom is priced at $280.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' latest profile of the Dubbo region, of the 7,546 households renting, 2,923 of them are spending more than 30 per cent of their weekly income on rental, putting them under the rental stress bracket.

Locals in the region experiencing mortgage stress even before the Reserve Bank raised the interest rates this year numbered 1,146 families paying more than they can afford on their monthly mortgages. The median monthly repayment is $1,300.

Ms Chapman said there are 4,561 renters in Dubbo as of March this year, an increase of 31 more from the end of December 2021 based on data from the Real Estate Institute of Australia quarterly data.

"There is more demand in rentals and asking for more choices in housing such as free-standing homes and low maintenance properties," Ms Chapman said.

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The housing affordability situation across Australia must be addressed now as more families and individuals are pushed out of the housing market and they need a decent place to live, according to Everybody's Home which is supported by over 400 organisations.

"Just because you rent, doesn't mean you haven't established deep roots in a community. Renters on low and modest incomes work in the local shops and aged care services. They have kids in local schools, are members of sports clubs, and attend local churches," Ms Colvin said.

"They deserve the same stability as everyone else. We need to start planning for more social and affordable houses now."

Ms Colvin said they will be watching a projected dip in construction of homes from next year that the state governments need "to take up the slack in the housing industry".

"The bitter fruit of a decade of housing neglect is with us now and is being unfairly forced on low-income renters. This problem will only get worse if we fail to act."

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