The crystal blue waters off the southern coast of Western Australia have long been a key draw for the popular tourist town of Esperance.

However, people wanting to call Esperance home are finding it almost impossible to get a rental property.

A Regional Australia Institute (RAI) report on the country's housing crisis published in August showed the town's rental vacancy rate was 0.15 per cent in December 2024, the second-tightest rental market in regional Australia.

The shortage of local housing stock is not a new issue, with the ABC reporting on how the crisis affected staffing at childcare centres in March 2024.

In 2025, childcare centres in the town of about 15,000 people are reporting waitlists of more than 100 children.

A Shire of Esperance survey of local businesses in January

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