SQM Research has released rental vacancy data for February, which revealed a slight 0.1% fall in the national vacancy rate, although rental vacancies were still up 0.2% from the same time last year (see below table).
Of particular interest this month is Melbourne, where the rental vacancy rate fell by a whopping 0.5% to the lowest levels since May 2011. According to SQM, “the general trend has been downward for many regions in Melbourne such as Eastern Melbourne, Inner East Melbourne, Melbourne North and Melbourne West”.
SQM’s latest asking rents index paints a mixed picture, with the capital city average revealing a -0.7% decrease in asking rents for houses and a 1.2% increase in asking rents for units since February 2013.
According to SQM Research’s managing director, Louis Christopher:
“Overall rental conditions continued to modestly favour landlords over the course of the month, with some interesting results coming out of Melbourne and Perth. It has been some time since we recorded a definitive decline in vacancies in what could be a sign that the excess stock seen in Melbourne is starting to be occupied. Meanwhile the sharp falls in rents for Perth are in line with rising vacancies being recorded there and are a manifestation of a rather rapid decline in demand for accommodation.”
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