The national vacancy rate has hit a new low of just 1.1 per cent after recording its largest drop in more than a year in August.
According to the latest PropTrack Market Insight report, the national vacancy rate fell 0.14 per cent last month and the share of rental properties available is now 54 per cent lower than in March 2020.
“It became even harder to rent a property in August, with the national vacancy rate falling to a new low of just 1.1 per cent,” PropTrack Economist Anne Flaherty said.
“Vacancy rates deteriorated in every capital city bar Darwin, with Canberra and Sydney seeing the sharpest drops over the month.”
Canberra’s vacancy rate dropped 0.26 per cent to 1.72 per cent, while Sydney’s fell 0.19 per cent in August to 1.26 per cent and Melbourne’s declined 0.10 per cent to 1.19 per cent.
The tightest capital city rental market is Adelaide, which recorded a 0.13 per cent drop to see the vacancy rate sit at 0.68 per cent.
This is closely followed by Perth, which has a vacancy rate of 0.69 per cent.
Brisbane’s vacancy rate also sits well below 1 per cent at just 0.84 per cent, while Hobart is at 1.51 per cent and Darwin 1.70 per cent.
“There are no signs rental conditions are easing, with the vacancy rate now sitting below 1 per cent in three of Australia’s capital cities,” Ms Flaherty said.
“Across Australia, the share of available rental properties has fallen by more than half since the start of the pandemic.”
Ms Flaherty said regional vacancy rates had also deteriorated, with regional South Australia recording the lowest vacancy rate of 0.69 per cent.
“Rents are predicted to continue rising off the back of these incredibly low vacancy rates, which are driving up competition for properties,” she said.
