Australia’s rental market remains under pressure, with national vacancy rates falling for the third straight month.
According to PropTrack’s latest report, the national rental vacancy rate decreased by 0.06 percentage points (ppt) to 1.34% in September, reflecting tighter market conditions.
“In unwelcome news for renters, market conditions deteriorated further in September, with vacancies down in both capital city and regional areas,” said Anne Flaherty (pictured above), senior economist at REA Group.
Sydney experienced a 0.08ppt drop, bringing its vacancy rate to 1.56%, while Hobart recorded the sharpest fall among all markets. Hobart’s vacancy rate declined by 0.26ppt to just 0.63%, the lowest of any city.
Meanwhile, Canberra saw its vacancy rate shrink by 0.15ppt to 1.74%, making it the second-largest drop among capital cities. Perth and Brisbane also experienced decreases of 0.10ppt and 0.06ppt, respectively.
In contrast, only Melbourne (+0.01ppt), Adelaide (+0.02ppt), and Darwin (+0.29ppt) recorded slight improvements in availability over the month.
The squeeze on rental properties isn’t limited to cities.
Regional Australia saw its combined vacancy rate fall by 0.08ppt, leaving it at 1.12%.
“The easing in rental conditions seen over the first half of the year appears to have come to an end, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant trending lower since July,” Flaherty said.
Over the past year, regional markets have seen vacancies decline by 0.09ppt, while capital city vacancy rates remain slightly higher than last year, increasing by 0.22ppt year-on-year.
Compared to March 2020, the availability of rental properties has dropped by 46%, making it increasingly difficult for renters to secure homes.
“The gap between capital city and regional vacancy rates has widened over the past five months, with regional vacancy now sitting 0.31ppt below capital city levels,” Flaherty said.
As market conditions tighten, renters face growing challenges in both metropolitan and regional areas, leaving little relief in sight, PropTrack reported.
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