Renting a home in Perth is now nearly as expensive as Sydney, with the mining boom driving rents to a record level.

The soaring population of temporary workers in Perth and Darwin has seen housing costs ‘‘skyrocket’’, driving rents up by $90 to $130 a week in the last year, according to Australian Property Monitors.

Asking rents ... how they've moved Credit:APM

New research shows a house now costs $490 a week to rent in Perth and $700 a week in Darwin. Meanwhile, rental growth has been nonexistent in Sydney and Melbourne for more than a year.

APM chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said the ‘‘extraordinary rises’’ were caused by a fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workforce that can afford to bid up the price of housing well beyond what locals could afford.