New PropTrack report showed the national rental vacancy rate plunged to an all-time low in October, falling 0.06 percentage points to just 1.02%, leaving tenants with limited choices and heightened competition for available properties.
“Tenants faced even tougher conditions in October, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant falling to the lowest level on record,” said Anne Flaherty (pictured above), PropTrack economist and report author.
The latest PropTrack Market Insight Report also revealed that vacancy rates were down in both capital city and regional areas, with record-lows reached in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland.
In Sydney, rental conditions deteriorated further in October, with vacancy dipping 0.08 ppt to a record-low 1.11%, while Melbourne experienced a similar decline, with vacancy rates falling by 0.06 percentage points to 1.09%.
“Melbourne and Sydney have seen the sharpest falls in available rentals over the past 12 months, with vacancy down 0.55 ppt and 0.35 ppt, respectively,” Flaherty said. “Conditions have also deteriorated in regional areas, with vacancy down 0.31 ppt over the quarter.”
Both Perth and Brisbane have seen their vacancy rates remain below 1% for an extended period. Perth’s vacancy rate fell 0.02 percentage points to 0.7% in October, while Brisbane's decreased 0.04 ppt to 0.87%.
Adelaide has maintained its position as the city with the lowest vacancy rate in the country, with a relatively steady rate of just 0.67%.
Hobart experienced the sharpest drop in vacancy rates among all capital cities, with a reduction of 0.18 ppt bringing the vacancy rate to 1.21%.
In a notable exception, Darwin was the only city to witness a significant rise in vacancy, jumping 0.68 ppt to 2.47%, PropTrack reported.
See table below for PropTrack’s rental vacancy rates in October.
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