By Leith van Onselen

As shown above, the commodities bust continues to weigh heavily on Perth, with the vacancy rate jumping by 1.6% over the year. Brisbane, too, is experiencing rising rental vacancies (up 0.5% YoY to 2.8%), whereas Darwin’s has stabilised at a high level (down 0.1% YoY to 3.4%).

Perth’s vacancy rate is now the highest in the nation at 4.6%, almost double the national average:

By contrast, the bubble epicentres of Sydney (1.7% – down 1.0% YoY) and Melbourne (2.1% – down 0.1% YoY) remain relatively tight, as do Adelaide (2.0% – up 0.3% YoY), Canberra (1.4% – down 0.5% YoY), and Hobart (0.9% – down 0.5% YoY).

SQM Research also released its asking rents data for the week ended 12 May 2016, which again recorded steep annual falls in rents in Darwin and Perth, which have held down asking rents nationally. Rental growth in Brisbane and Adelaide are also quite weak, whereas it is relatively strong in Canberra, Sydney and Hobart, and moderate in Melbourne:

According to SQM Research’s managing director, Louis Christopher:

“The vacancy rate for Perth is now at a record high based on our series. It is suggestive that the housing downturn in Perth has yet to bottom out and that rents, which are already well down from their peaks in 2012, still have further to fall”…

Couldn’t agree more.

unconventionaleconomist@hotmail.com

Rental vacancies jump in April