Sydney, Melbourne rents pounded

Wednesday 13 January 2021

Via Domain:

Source: Domain Rent Report, December quarter 2020
UNITS – MEDIAN WEEKLY ASKING RENT
Capital City	Q4 2020	QoQ Change	YoY Change
Sydney	$470	-5.1%	-7.8%
Melbourne	$388	-3.0%	-7.6%
Brisbane	$400	1.3%	3.9%
Adelaide	$340	0.0%	7.9%
Perth	$350	2.9%	12.9%
Canberra	$495	3.1%	3.1%
Darwin	$420	7.7%	7.7%
Hobart	$400	0.0%	-2.4%
National	$432	-3.4%	-5.7%

HOUSES – MEDIAN WEEKLY ASKING RENT
Source: Domain Rent Report, December quarter 2020
Capital City	Q4 2020	QoQ Change	YoY Change
Sydney	$550	1.9%	4.8%
Melbourne	$440	0.0%	2.3%
Brisbane	$425	2.4%	3.7%
Adelaide	$410	1.2%	5.1%
Perth	$420	6.3%	13.5%
Canberra	$600	3.4%	3.4%
Darwin	$550	12.2%	10.6%
Hobart	$460	2.2%	0.0%
National	$469	2.0%	4.8%

Another very good reason why Sydney and Melbourne are going to lag the global property recovery materially.

That said, it is reasonable to expect a sharp rebound in ex-Chinese tourists and international students through H2 this year which will bring the adjustment to an end.

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific's leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.