Rental property prices in Western Australian mining towns have ranked closely behind that of elite Sydney suburbs, according to new figures.
Research released by RP Data indicates that rental and leasing prices in Western Australia's Port Hedland, Pegs Creek and Baynton mining centres ranked closing behind NSW's Vaucluse
in terms of the highest median weekly price
A house in Vaucluse recorded an average price of $2,300 per week, while those in WA reported between $1,650 and $2,000 to rent.
Port Hedland was found to be the most expensive WA area – RP Data figures also indicated that its median house price had jumped 165 per cent in five years.
According to leading money commentator Sonja Koremans, inflated rental prices are not isolated to the west, with Queensland landlords asking as much as $170,000 a year for residences in the state's coal capital Moranbah.
"Modest homes in semi-arid desert [are] fetching as much as mansions on millionaires' row," Ms Koremans stated in an article for News Limited.
According to CFMEU Queensland secretary Jim Valery, fly-in fly-out working practices and population imbalances will continue to increase if the inflated rental prices are not addressed by the government.