House hunt still on months later
THREE months and almost 20 rental applications after a fire destroyed their Depot Hill home, Roslyn Thomson and her family were still looking for somewhere to live.
On May 21, Roslyn returned to the family's Wood St rental property to find it an empty shell; their life in ashes.
Since then, Roslyn said she, her two sons and her husband had been living in a granny flat at a friend's place.
"We just couldn't get a house to rent," she said.
"We applied for emergency housing, too, but they said there was nothing."
Roslyn said one house they applied for had 15 other people interested in it.
"It's crazy," she said.
"We're moving on, but it makes it hard."
Pat O'Driscoll Real Estate's South Rockhampton office manager Rebecca Trott said the current rental vacancy rate was 1.71%.
"We've seen such low vacancy rates for so long," she said.
"The last few weeks have been a bit higher though."
Rebecca said availability was fluctuating at the moment, ranging anywhere between 1 and 3%.
Recent statistics also revealed there were almost 500 homeless people in Rockhampton
Thankfully, Roslyn and her family were able to find somewhere to stay and have recently bought a block of land.
Roslyn said she was extremely grateful to everyone in the community who had shown their support.
MEDIAN RENTS June 2012
Gladstone:
$650
Rockhampton:
$350
North Rockhampton:
$430
Yeppoon:
$450
Blackwater:
$1500
Emerald:
$850
Source RTA
