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The housing situation in a mid-north town in South Australia is so dire one property agent is asking the community to be creative to help add supply to the rental market.
Donna Daniel is the director of a real estate agency in Kapunda, 78 kilometres north of Adelaide, who said she was having to turn away hundreds of people looking for rentals.
"That puts a lot of pressure on us, we have to be able to help but unfortunately if we don't have properties to put them into it's very difficult," she said.
"I guess [we're] trying to get some community input in thinking outside the square."
Being creative in a tight rental market
Ms Daniel put a call out on her company's local page asking residents to come forward with dwellings that could be put on the market for rentals.
"Some of the properties might not be top of [people's] minds but are currently vacant and need a bit of work doing to them," she said.
Ms Daniel said farmhouses or bed and breakfasts not performing could be offered up as rentals.
"We've got trades and services and local community groups ... that could help with some small modifications, or to just bring them up to standard," she said.
"We're just doing absolutely everything or anything we can think of at the moment to make it a little bit easier for everyone."
She said responses to the post have been positive so far.
"The reality is there is not very many options and a very big need, and anybody that can offer anything at the moment, reach out, we're happy to have a discussion with them."
High density may not be the answer
Last week, Master Builders Australia came out in support of medium to high density buildings being introduced in regional parts of the country to ease the housing crisis.
But Will Frogley, South Australia's chief executive officer for Master Builders, said that might not be the answer for the state.
"In my experience, most people that want to live in the regions in South Australia, would prefer a bit of space, not to say that covers everyone," Mr Frogley said.
He said if the demand for high density housing presented itself, the market would follow.
"If I'm looking at the state at the moment, places like Whyalla with the government's hydrogen agenda, will need a lot of short-term accommodation for workers," he said.
"I guess it will come down to demand and supply, if local communities are getting strong feedback from people that there's a significant percentage of the population that want to live in apartments, that will probably drive the way building goes."