New realestate.com.au data reveals the median rent price for a house is $550 per week to in the Australian capital, making it more expensive than most other cities, including Melbourne ($430pw).

MORE: Outer suburbs dominate Canberra’s top growth areas

Canberra’s Scandinavian haven

The data looks at the Canberra metro suburbs where median weekly rents had the least growth for the 12 months to 31 May, and only three suburbs saw price drops.

Campbell’s median weekly rent fell by 3% to $750pw, while Palmerston and Mawson both dropped by 2%. Isaacs, Lyons, Downer, Garran, Rivett and Curtin recorded no change for the period.

Here are the 10 Canberra suburbs with the least YoY growth:

1.Campbell: -3%, $750pw

2.Palmerston: -2%, $493pw

3.Mawson: -2%, $530pw

4.Isaacs: 0%, $650pw

5.Lyons: 0%, $550pw

6.Downer: 0%, $550pw

7.Garran: 0%, $550pw

8.Rivett: 0%, $490pw

9.Curtin: 0%, $595pw

10.Farrer: 1%, $580pw

Of the 10 suburbs in the list, only Campbell and Curtin are in central Canberra, with Downer the only entry from the inner north. Most of the rental suburbs with little to no price growth were in the Woden Valley, Weston Creek and Gungahlin districts.

Nerida Conisbee, realestate.com.au’s chief economist, says Canberra is a high-growth market because of its consistent demand for rental properties, particularly in the inner-city and near universities.

“Canberra is always a high-demand rental location,” Conisbee says. “People are usually there for a set period of time — for a job or to study — so they often tend to rent rather than buy.

“It’s having quite a bit of population growth for a small city and that is driving demand and price growth. The Canberra median rent rose by 6% year on year, and the year before it rose by the same amount.

“The year before that, it was 4.5% growth. And views per rental listing on realestate.com.au remain really high,” she says.