- Rental availability was also slashed, down over 26%.
- The cost of renting has risen by over 10%.
- New rental listings on realestate.com.au fell 6.6% in a year.
Renting in the capitals is a Sysiphian task again as Australians move back to the city and rental stock in Australia’s major centres hits record lows, revealed the latest PropTrack Rental Report.
The report has found that the focus is back on the capital cities, with combined capital city total rental listings down 26.3 per cent year on year, sitting at the lowest levels since February 2003.
Interest is also higher. The report noted enquiries per rental listing moved up 31.3 per cent year on year in the capitals, with the regions witnessing a fall of 30 per cent.
Regional rentals recorded a 9.8 per cent increase in rental listings (year on year), the report noted that is the largest annual increase since June 2014.
PropTrack Director of Economic Research and report author, Cameron Kusher, says the national rental market remains tight, characterised by strong demand and low supply that is seeing properties lease rapidly.
Kushers says: “With low volumes of stock available for rent at a time when demand for rentals is strong and is likely to increase further, we expect the market to remain extremely challenging for renters.
“While some of the pressures evident in regional rental markets in recent years appear to be easing, the market continues to tighten in the major capital cities. With people now returning to capital cities and overseas migration lifting, it looks as if it will only become more difficult to rent a property in the capitals during 2023.
“In Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest rental markets in the country, rental stock is reducing quickly and demand for rental properties is increasing. Most of the overseas migration that will occur over the coming years will be in these two cities, which will increase demand for rental accommodation.
“There remains an immense need for more rental accommodation, particularly in the major capital cities. It’s critical that we find ways to create more supply – either through increased investment or more build-to-rent projects – or we reduce demand, which seems unlikely.
“Addressing the demand and supply dynamic will take some time which means that supply is likely to remain tight and the cost of renting will increase in the near-term. Rent price increases will be much stronger in capital cities, while regional areas are likely to see rental market pressures continue to ease over 2023” he says.
Rental rates hiked almost 15 per cent
In Domain’s Rent Report for the December quarter, it was revealed that house rents jumped 14.6% in 12 months, while units increased even further by 17.6 per cent across the combined capitals.
Across the country, house rents jumped the most in Perth (15.2 per cent) followed by Brisbane (14.6 per cent). While rent increases were the smallest in Canberra (three per cent) and Darwin (5.1 per cent).
For units, Melbourne rents surged a staggering 20 per cent in 12 months, followed by Sydney at 18.6 per cent, with Canberra again seeing the slowest growth at 5.7 per cent.
Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell says rental vacancy rates are now reaching critical levels.
“Nationally, asking rents are at historic highs across all cities (apart from Darwin and units in Perth), rents are rising at the fastest annual pace ever seen across the combined capitals and the number of vacant rental properties is at an all-time low for the month of December,” Dr Powell says.
Securing a rental in tough times, five tips to win
Earlier this week, experts from Cohen Farquharson and Image Property Management offered their tips you get the rental you want when making an application.
- Do your research and ask questions before the inspection,
- Have your completed application form and all necessary documents ready for inspection,
- Treat it like a job application and create a tenant resume,
- Show evidence of reliability and being a low-maintenance tenant,
- Be ready to pounce on an offer and have a holding fee set aside.
Read about the article on five tips to secure a rental here.
