By Leith van Onselen
Sorry folks, almost missed SQM Research’s release last week of the capital city rental vacancies data for the month of February:
As you can see from the above table, rental vacancies fell by -2,279 (-4.6%) in February, but remained 3,662 (+8.4%) higher than in February 2011.
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra have all experienced yearly rises in the number of rental vacancies, whereas Perth and Darwin have experienced falls.
The Melbourne rental market appears quite oversupplied, with a vacancy rate of 3.0% or a 991 (+9.9%) increase in the number of homes for rent over the past year. By contrast, Perth’s rental market, in particular, is extremely tight, with a rental vacancy rate of only 0.6% and a massive 594 (-38%) reduction in homes for rent over the past year.
Based on this data, as well as the two speed nature of the Australian economy, expect strong rental growth in Perth, in particular, but minimal (if any) rental growth in Melbourne.
