Speaker 1: Leo and Maladie moved out of a share house during the pandemic. What time do you work? Tonight. At $480 a week, they found an apartment in Sydney affordable. It's just one bathroom, one bathroom and it's a small piece. They weren't the only ones who wanted their own space. Modelling by the Reserve Bank shows that many people left share houses at the start of COVID and more people moved in with partners or their parents. Overall, the number of people living in a property continued to drop to a record low.

Speaker 2: The smaller household sizes simply amplified demand and more than offset the fact that overseas migrants weren't arriving in Australia.

Speaker 1: CoreLogic's Tim Lawless says that vacancy rates are now near zero and the number of properties listed for rent is 30% down on 2022.

Speaker 2: It does look like rental supply is going to remain very low at a time when demand is rising from overseas migration. The by-product, of course, is going to be further upwards pressure on rents.

Speaker 3: Do we have a muck up here?

Speaker 1: Melody and Leo faced a hike of 25% to $600 a week on their one-bedroom unit.

Speaker 3: Aim for yourself.

Speaker 1: Actually, I just keep telling everyone it's crazy. Because I'm a full-time student, I only work for some part-time jobs. It forced them back into a share house with their former housemate.

Speaker 3: We both are working at the night shift, so it's hard to figure out which one will be the best time for doing our laundry.

Speaker 4: So usually if you can see a second-hand couch out the front of a home, it's usually a sure sign that it's a share house.

Speaker 1: Share house analyst Claudia Conley says the number of people who are seeking just a room is now back to pre-pandemic levels and some of those who are looking defy the student stereotype.

Speaker 4: We're actually seeing a large increase of people over the age of 55 looking for share accommodation. We also see a lot of single parents looking for other single parents to live with.

Speaker 1: The number of people listing out their rooms is also rising and this suggests that more people are trying to make extra cash as the cost of living bites. Claudia Conley says there's an estimated 12 million spare rooms sitting empty across the country.

Speaker 4: We'd love to see some of those properties being listed as a room to rent to help take pressure off the rental market.

Speaker 1: In a year, rents nationally have risen more than 10%. Leo and Maladie are actually paying the same in their new share house as they were on their last apartment.

Speaker 3: I have no choices. Everywhere is getting expensive.

Speaker 1: While this is their new home, the young couple haven't unpacked all their boxes for fear they'll need to move again. .