Rental vacancies dip in September

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By Leith van Onselen

SQM Research has today released rental vacancies data for the month of September, which registered a slight fall in the vacancy rate nationally to 2.1%, but with vacancies still 0.3% higher than the same time last year (see below table).

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As shown above, the outcomes across each capital city differs, with both Perth and Canberra recording big annual rises in vacancies (although Perth did record a fall over September), whereas vacancies in Sydney have tightened further, and Darwin’s remain very tight, despite vacancies moderating slightly over the year. Brisbane’s vacancy rate is gradually creeping up, whereas Adelaide’s in steady. Melbourne continues to have by far the highest vacancy rate in the nation, although it has managed a slight reduction over the year, whereas Hobart’s vacancies have shrunk significantly.

According to SQM’s managing director, Louis Christopher:

“Currently there is no one national trend in the rental market; rather the national market is very much segmented with each city recording completely different trends and results. However, with a vacancy rate of 2.1%, it does suggest that the rental market remains mildly in favour of landlords and would suggest rent increases would be running at close to the general inflation rate or just above it at this point in time.”

Nationally asking rents have been flat for the past 12 months, falling by just 0.7% for houses and rising by 1.5% for units.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.