'Extremely worrying': rental vacancy hits record low
It’s never been tougher for renters looking for a new home, as the national rental vacancy rate falls to a record low amid Australia’s housing crisis.
New PropTrack data showed that the national vacancy rate declined 0.12 percentage points (ppt) to 1.07% in February.
The crisis has worsened significantly since the pandemic, with national levels of available rental homes plummeting 60% since March 2020.
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said rental markets were proving extremely challenging for renters, with very limited availability across most of the country.
“Sydney and Melbourne have seen notably larger declines than other capitals, with vacancy rates in both cities falling 0.3 ppt compared to February 2023,” he said.
“Rental markets in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth remain extremely challenging, with vacancy rates in all three cities below 1%.
“With rental market conditions extremely tight, competition for rentals is likely to remain tough.
“In the near-term, that is likely to continue to put pressure on rents and further strain rental affordability, which is already at its worst level in at least 17 years.”
Regional markets were also facing limited availability after signs of improvement early last year.
Regional area vacancy rates fell 0.07ppt to 1.14% last month and were now 0.22 ppt lower than a year ago.
