In more bad news for renters already struggling with high rental prices, PropTrack’s latest report has revealed rental vacancy rates dipped 0.4 percentage points to 1.43% in July – close to half the level seen since the start of the pandemic.
According to Anne Flaherty (pictured above), PropTrack economist and report author, the figure reflected fewer rental properties coming into the market, which meant “the cost of renting is likely to increase further for Australia’s tenants in the months ahead.”
The supply of rental properties decreased in both capital cities and regional areas over July.
Rental conditions deteriorated in Sydney in July, with vacancy rates slipping 0.09 ppt to 1.65%. Melbourne maintained its rental vacancy rate of 1.41% in the same month, although it was down 0.82 ppt compared to 12 months ago – the biggest year-on-year drop of any capital city. Brisbane’s rental vacancy rate saw a very slight uptick over the month, lifting just 0.01 ppt to 1.15% in July.
Adelaide and Perth rental markets continued to be the tightest, with vacancy rates still under 1% in these cities.
“Melbourne has seen the sharpest decline in rental vacancies of any market over the past 12 months,” Flaherty said. “As Australia's fastest growing capital city, vacancy is likely to fall further in Melbourne and lead to higher rents.”
In regional areas, the supply of rental properties also dropped over July, with the vacancy rate dropping 0.04 ppt to 1.51%.
“While vacancy rates in regional areas fell over July, they remain above the levels seen 12 months ago in every state, with regional NT and Tasmania seeing the biggest jump in availabilities,” Flaherty said. “This suggests a slowdown in the trend towards regional living that accelerated during the pandemic.
“Although, pressure is unlikely to ease any time soon for tenants, with the number of vacant properties predicted to remain at extremely low levels over at least the next 12 months.”
Use the comment section below to tell us how you felt about this.
