Figures from Flatmates.com.au show there are more than 130 people waiting to find a shared room in some Sydney suburbs, but none of the rooms are listed as available.
This is because housing experts have revealed that shared rooms were "wiped out" during the early onset of Covid and numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Flatmates.com.au recorded its busiest month in May with 69,400 new members joining the platform across Australia, up 36.6 per cent on April and 103 per cent on May 2022.
Sydney saw record demand, with 133 people listing for shared accommodation in the CBD, but no rooms available. This was followed by Barangaroo with 106 listings and 0 rooms, and The Rocks with 125 listings and only 3 rooms available.
"The real estate market in Sydney has always been very competitive and very expensive, so add to that the rent crisis and Sydney's co-tenants are definitely feeling it," said Claudia Conley, community manager at Flatmates.com.au.
"It's the rising cost of living ...... As rents rise, people who were living in rented accommodation can no longer afford it, so they're looking for options to share the cost.
"On top of that, there's the post-pandemic comeback. Shared accommodations were really destroyed during the pandemic, and now all of our domestic and international borders are open, so there's a lot more movement of people across states and countries.
"We have international student populations who come back to Australia to study and then on top of that, there aren't enough properties available."
Sydney top 10 - highest ratio of shared house seekers to listings
Sydney - 133 listings - 0 vacancies
Barangaroo - 106 listings - 0 rooms
Eveleigh - 84 listings - 1 room
Darling Harbour - 67 listings - 0 rooms
Moore Park - 64 listings - 0 rooms
Roseville - 48 listings - 1 room
The Rocks - 125 listings - 3 rooms
Seaforth - 40 listings - 1 room
Denistone - 34 listings - 1 room
Cabramatta - 33 listings - 1 room
Ms. Conley said that while there are more properties coming online for sharing, that hasn't kept up with the strong demand.
"In Sydney, in terms of available rooms, there has been a 68 percent increase in the past year and a 30 percent increase per month," she said.
"The problem is demand. Before the big epidemic, you had the usual suspects for shared accommodation; students, backpackers, inner-city hipsters, young professionals.
The "sharer community" has grown to include people who are overpriced for rentals, seniors who may have divorced or lost their spouses, and single parents, she said.
Flatmates.com.au's pre-pandemic wait time of 2-4 weeks has now increased to 6-8 weeks to secure a room in a shared home.
"We really want to encourage people to be a little more creative or look at a few suburbs across from their dream suburb," Ms. Conley said.
"The further you go, the more rooms are available.
"We'd also like to see more homeowners, more empty nesters - people who have a room available - participate in this event. If you're feeling a little lonely, or want to get out there and make more money, there are a lot of benefits to renting out your spare room."
