Median Rent figures are easily available for Brisbane in Queensland, from the Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority.
These figures were available for the 3 months ended Sept 2010.
| Weekly Rent | Property Type | New Rentals |
| $365.00 | Two bedroom flats/units | 4,303 |
| $380.00 | 3 Bedroom Houses | 3,117 |
| $280.00 | One bedroom flats/units | 2,226 |
| $450.00 | 4 Bedroom Houses | 1,627 |
| $380.00 | 3 Bedroom Townhouses | 1,479 |
| $430.00 | Three bedroom flats/units | 893 |
| $350.00 | Two bedroom houses | 627 |
| $350.00 | Two bedroom townhouses | 315 |
From the above 14,000 new tenancies in that 3 month period, in the Brisbane area, we are able to get an idea of the real accommodation costs for those in rental properties.
If we then look at those costs in relation to the average wage, we see the following:
Queensland average Full Time earnings, $1,284.70 per week.
Comparing the rent of a 3 Bedroom House in Brisbane, to the average persons wage in Queensland, we see that it is 29.6% of that persons wage.
Looking at UK wages, with a source from the BBC, the average Full Time earnings in different regions of the UK were, in 2008:
| Location | Annual Income |
| London | £46,462 |
| South East | £32,819 |
| East | £30,318 |
| Scotland | £28,296 |
| South West | £28,182 |
| East Midlands | £28,057 |
| North West | £28,045 |
| West Midlands | £27,872 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | £27,534 |
| Wales | £25,677 |
| North East | £25,551 |
| Northern Ireland | £25,550 |
These 2008 wages should be increased by 2.6% to use as a 2010 figure, based on this:
- UK Average weekly income Aug 2008 £430
- UK Average weekly income Aug 2010 £441 increase of 2.6%
Therefore, the equivalent UK weekly rentals, for a 3 bedroom House, based on the Brisbane figures, should be:
| Weekly Rent | Location |
| £272 | London |
| £192 | South East |
| £178 | East |
| £166 | Scotland |
| £165 | South West |
| £165 | East Midlands |
| £164 | North West |
| £163 | West Midlands |
| £161 | Yorkshire & the Humber |
| £151 | Wales |
| £150 | North East |
| £150 | Northern Ireland |
Some UK rental figures can be seen at rentright, and these show the national average rent for a 3 bedroom property as:
3 bedroom properties and flats
Average Rental Prices for October 2010: £1131 or £261 per week.
These same 3 bedroom properties, broken down by location, have average weekly rental figures of:
| Weekly Rent | Location |
| £520 | London |
| £240 | Oxfordshire |
| £205 | Cornwall |
| £198 | Kent |
| £144 | West Midlands |
| £143 | Lancashire |
| £141 | West Yorkshire |
This seems to show that some areas of the UK are comparable, in a percentage of income term, to the Brisbane rental figures. However, London is a much higher % of income, with an average rental of $520 pw or 58% of the London average full time income.
Sources:
- Brisbane Rentals: http://www.rta.qld.gov.au
- Queensland Wages: http://www.abs.gov.au 6302.0 Table 11c
- UK Wages: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7802792.stm
- UK Wage changes 2008-2010: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=14015
- UK Rentals: http://www.rentright.co.uk
