It became even harder to rent a property in August, with the national vacancy rate falling to a new low of just 1.1 per cent, after recording its largest drop in more than a year.
According to the latest PropTrack Market Insight report, the national vacancy rate fell 0.14 per cent last month and the share of rental properties available is now 54 per cent lower than in March 2020.
Major cities saw sharp declines in vacancy rates.
Sydney’s rental situation worsened in August, with its vacancy rate dropping to 1.26 per cent.
Melbourne’s rental vacancy rate dropped to 1.19 per cent.
Brisbane was sub one per cent, dropping to 0.84 per cent. It wasn’t the only one however, with the nation’s tightest rental markets in Perth and Adelaide hitting vacancy rates of less than 0.7 per cent.
Canberra suffered the harshest monthly decline though has generally fared better. It’s rental vacancy rate of 1.72 per cent is the highest in the country.
Darwin was the only city where rental vacancies rose. It achieved 1.70 per cent for August.
The regions haven’t fared any better.
Regional vacancy rates also deteriorated, with the national regional vacancy rate falling to just 1.1 per cent. Regional South Australia recorded the lowest at 0.69 per cent. The regional Queensland market was also tight in August with a vacancy rate of .94 per cent. Other regional August rates were 1.29 per cent for New South Wales, 1.07 per cent for Victoria, 1.24 per cent for Western Australia and Tasmania, and 1.96 per cent for Northern Territory.
With the vacancy rate now sitting below one per cent in three of Australia’s capital cities, there is little sign that rental conditions are easing, and, across Australia, the share of available rental properties has fallen by more than half since pre-COVID.
These low vacancy rates are driving up competition for properties, so rents are likely to continue rising. This means more tough time ahead for many renters.