The national vacancy rate has hit a new record low of 1.02 per cent, according to PropTrackโs latest Market Insight report.
In October the national vacancy rate fell .06 per cent, to take the annual decline to 0.18 per cent and the change since March 2020 is a drastic 56 per cent decline.
PropTrack Economist Anne Flaherty said renters currently faced the most testing market conditions recorded.
โTenants faced even tougher conditions in October, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant falling to the lowest level on record,โ she said.
โJust 1.02 per cent of rental were vacant in October, with vacancies down in both capital city and regional areas and record lows reached in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.โ
Ms Flaherty said it was unlikely market conditions would improve anytime soon.
โThe national vacancy rate has been trending down for well over three years now – a trend that looks likely to continue off the back of strong population growth and a slowdown in the supply of new housing,โ she said.
The vacancy rate fell in all but two capital cities in October, with Hobart recording the most significant drop at .18 per cent.
The vacancy rate in the Apple Isle capital is now just 1.21 per cent, down .58 per cent on a year ago.
But itโs Adelaide that retained the unwanted title of having the tightest vacancy rate of all the capitals, despite recording a tiny 0.1 per cent increase in October to .67 per cent.
This was closely followed by Perth, with a vacancy rate of just .70 per cent, then Brisbane (.87 per cent), Melbourne (1.09 per cent), Sydney (1.11 per cent), Hobart (1.21 per cent) and the ACT (1.61 per cent).
Darwin has the highest vacancy rate of the capital cities, climbing .68 per cent in October to 2.47 per cent.
โMelbourne and Sydney have seen the sharpest falls in available rentals over the past 12 months, with vacancy down .55 percentage points and .35 percentage points, respectively,โ Ms Flaherty said.
โConditions have also deteriorated in regional areas, with vacancy down .31 percentage points over the quarter.โ
Regional South Australia has the lowest vacancy rates of the rural areas at .72 per cent, while regional Northern Territory has the highest vacancy rate at 1.63 per cent.