The median cost of weekly rent in some regional areas around the country has blown out by more than 20 per cent in the past year.
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Property experts and analysts are blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for the sudden demand for private and rental housing options.
As populations looked to move away from densely populated cities, aided by the growth in work-from-home options, demand for houses in regional areas grew, increasing the competition for homes.
Here we take a look at the impact these changes in the market, and the increase in petrol prices, have had on rural and regional Australians:
NSW South Coast
The worsening crisis in regional housing is gripping the NSW South Coast, with hundreds of people now sleeping rough every night.
Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla Shire locals have turned to living in cars, mouldy tents, and in caves - some with just tattered tarps tied above them.
Tanya Littler worked as a nurse and owned her own property in Sydney. After fleeing a long-term domestic violence relationship, she spent two years hopping between her car, tents and caravans from Nowra to Ulladulla.
Having a roof over her head now is "surreal", she told the South Coast Register, but she continues a daily battle with mental illness and the trauma of homelessness.
Lucas* is an essential worker earning more than he ever has, but his search for stable and affordable housing in Batemans Bay is running dry. He is weighing up quitting his job and leaving the area.
He has spent weeks at a time sleeping in his car and has stayed in four locations since moving to the region just over a year ago.
Bill* still struggles with the mental health scars the public housing system left with him.
Bill has been homeless for around five years and was once a public housing tenant, but says his experience with the public housing system did more harm than good.
"It's humiliating and embarrassing being homeless," he said
"We [homeless people] are the forgotten Australians.
"Nobody should be homeless - unless they want to be."
NSW Illawarra region
Rampant price rises and stagnant wages are driving critical workers such as aged care staff out of their sector and making housing more out of reach for a wide breadth of the community.
Research from community housing provider group PowerHousing Australia, the electorate of Gilmore, which stretches from Kiama to Batemans Bay, has seen the greatest percentage house price growth of any federal electorate.
The almost 40 per cent increase in the median dwelling price - from $633,160 to $833,384 - in one year has added an additional 10 years to the mortgage of a typical household.
For Sarah Clark, a single mum to four children and a full-time university student, retelling her ordeal of searching for a rental property in Wollongong in the second half of 2021 almost brings her to tears.
She says her life would look very different if she hadn't been able to access affordable rental housing through the Housing Trust.
"I'd be homeless without them," she said.
"I was in the private rental market before and I could not afford to study and put my daughter through school.
"Some places didn't welcome children, and I had to move away from my family to find something I could afford.
"Affordable housing has provided my daughter and I the comfort and space we need for work and education.
"We're just happy - it feels like a family."
Ballarat, Victoria
Almost half of renters and two-thirds of people with a mortgage in Ballarat are experiencing financial stress, figures reveal.
Single-parent and Ballarat resident Roxanne Mcphan told The Courier she had about $120 remaining in her bank account to live on each week after her rent and bills were taken out of her disability payment.
"I'm just managing to put a roof over my children's head and food on the table, taking in consideration that food and fuel has just gone up as well," she said.
"I'm in a private rental and it's killing me where I'm living.
"There are that many families living in their car because of the prices of rentals."
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said her rent was $415 a week and she had to decide whether to pay more than $100 of fuel a week to travel to and from school or purchase food for the family.
NSW Hunter region
The rising cost of fuel and groceries is putting extra pressure on Maitland families who were already doing it tough after two years in a pandemic.
The financial strain is expected to see a rise in the number of people reaching out to charities and places like Maitland Neighbourhood Centre for help to pay their bills and put food on the table.
Centre manager Sarah Adams said people were already asking for help to pay for fuel and cover their electricity bill, and she expected the demand to rise in the next few months.
The Slow Food Earth Market Maitland has stepped up to show families how to save on their food bill, while eating nutritious - and delicious - meals.
NSW Southern Tablelands
It's become an increasingly depressing sight for Dianne Lenger when she eyes her fuel gauge at the end of a work day and makes a mental note to stop at the next service station.
Dianne, like many Australians, has been hit hard by the recent surge in petrol prices which are further exasperating a rising cost of living.
The Crookwell local is in a particularly vulnerable position, having dropped down to part-time work after a health scare in addition to caring for her elderly mum who is also recovering from surgery.
"My biggest fear is if it keeps going up it's going to get to the point where I don't know if I can keep my job," she said.
Mallee and Bendigo, Victoria
More than a third of people with a mortgage and a quarter of renters in the Mallee electorate are experiencing financial stress, new data reveals.
In the Mallee federal electorate, 25.4 per cent of all rental households were experiencing financial stress, according to the new report.
Meanwhile, 38.2 per cent of households with a mortgage were in stress.
The numbers were smaller than neighbouring electorates - in nearby Wannon 42.9 per cent of renters were in stress and 34.2 per cent of mortgagees.
* Names have been changed for privacy.
Kim Chappell
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
