Dad ‘forced to buy’ kids $3.8 million home

The terraced house on Underwood Street in Paddington was snapped up by the dad after it had spent a month on the market.

His three children, two sons and a daughter who are all in their 20s, will now share the home.

They had struggled to find a property they could afford to rent in the suburb, PPD Real Estate told the Australian Financial Review.

“There’s a terrible shortage of rental properties,” the representative from the real estate firm said.

“A father decided – he had two sons and a daughter, all in their 20s – because nobody would rent to them in Paddington, he said, ‘I’ll buy you a house’. They’re all moving in. That’s their new share house.”

The home is described as having “a beautiful mix of Victorian grandeur and Scandinavian design”.

Its situated just a stone’s throw from the cafes and bars of Paddington village and has a north-east facing garden with a private lawn.

Hundreds of applications are flowing in for every rental on the market in Sydney, as unprecedented pressure pushes prices sky-high — and the vast majority of applicants are offering more than the advertised price.

The national vacancy rate is at an all-time low at just 0.9 per cent, forcing staggeringly high prices and fierce competition for every available property.

Though so-called “rent bidding” was outlawed in NSW late last year in a bid to stabilise soaring prices, it has done little to reverse the trend.

In fact, more than 100 people lodge an application for every apartment that’s up for rent in Sydney, according to one listing agent — and 80 per cent of them are offering more than the listed price.

“When we first came back from our Christmas break in January, that was the busiest time,” agent Scarlett Manttan of McGrath Property told news.com.au at an inspection on Saturday.

“My friend from work in the Coogee office had 106 people at one inspection. It’s crazy.”