The city has retained its top spot for the highest median weekly rents in the Central West, and more alarming for those looking for a property is that costs have soared by 7.1 per cent during the past year.

The Domain Rental Report for March 2019 shows the median rental costs for homes and units across the region.

The median weekly rent for a house in Orange is now $375, which is higher than in Bathurst ($360), Dubbo ($340), Hilltops ($270) and Cowra ($260) council areas.

The report also shows that Orange has the most expensive median unit rental costs at $265, which is closely followed by Bathurst ($260) and Dubbo ($255).

Rents are not only more expensive in Orange, but the city also recorded the highest year-on-year percentage increase across the Central West.

The cost of renting a house jumped by 7.1 per cent, while units increased by 6 per cent during the 12-month period.

Cowra house rental costs experienced the next highest increase at 4 per cent, Hilltops homes increased by 3.8 per cent, while Bathurst experienced an increase of 2.9 per cent.

Meanwhile renters in Dubbo experienced some relief with median weekly asking rents dropping by -2.9 per cent, the equivalent of $10 a week.

For investors, a decline in gross rental yield was experienced in Orange during the past 12 months.

The yield for an investment home in Orange is currently 4.93 per cent (down 1.3 per cent). This represents a drop of 5.9 per cent when compared to data from 2014 when the yield was 5.23 per cent.

In Bathurst, the yield on a house is currently 4.62 per cent (a decline of 0.7 per cent). This is down a significant 16.8 per cent compared to data from five years ago when the yield was 5.55 per cent.

Gross rental yields in Cowra are 5.90 per cent (up 2.3 per cent when compared to 12 months ago), in Dubbo it is 5.32 per cent (up 2.9 per cent), while the Hilltops is 5.59 per cent (up 1.1 per cent).