- Rents remained unchanged over the March quarter
- Hobart had the largest increase of the capitals - 1.1%
- Sydney fell by 0.5%
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has said the March 2021 quarter CPI figures show the rental market is continuing its recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
Specifically, the figures show that the capital city weighted average shows that rents remained unchanged for the March quarter while the previous quarter, December 2020, showed an increase of 0.1%.
Sydney had a fall of 0.5% for March, representing the sixth consecutive quarter of falls for Australia’s largest city. Hobart had the largest increase of the capitals with a 1.1% increase followed by Perth and Brisbane at 0.7% each.
“The annual changes for the trimmed mean and for the weighted median were 1.1% and 1.3% respectively with the trimmed mean being below 2% since December 20915. All measures are well below the RBA’s target rate of 2-3%.”
“The CPI figures for March tell us that there will be no pressure on interest rates for some time and that the rental market is improving. The latter is reinforced by ABS’s housing finance figures showing increased interest by investors.”
Adrian Kelly, REIA President
Over the past twelve months, Sydney saw the largest fall in rents at 2.9% while Hobart had the largest increase at 1.5%.
Adrian Kelly, REIA President, said while the Housing Group index increased by 0.1% during the March quarter, over the year it decreased by 1.1%.
Mr Kelly also added that REIA’s Real Estate Market Facts will be released in June which will provide further details on the Australian rental market – including figures from major regional centres.
