More rental properties are being filled, with the national residential rental vacancy rate decreasing to 2.2 per cent throughout June, according to SQM Research.
In May, 2.5 per cent of properties were vacant, with the vacancy rate this time last year sitting at 2.3 per cent.
As of June 30, there were 77,132 vacant residential properties across the Australia.
In Sydney, 3.8 per cent of rental properties are vacant, the highest rate in the country. Melbourne follows closely with 3 per cent. Hobart’s vacancy rate is the lowest, with only 0.9 per cent of rental properties sitting empty.
Perth’s rental market has made the biggest recovery since this time last year, with empty properties dropping from 3.2 per cent in June, 2019 to just 1.5 per cent.
Conversely, Melbourne’s vacancy rate has jumped 1 per cent over the past year.
“We believe the surprise fall in vacancy rates is due to Airbnb property owners giving up on the longer term leasing market and moving back to short term leasing,” said Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research, “especially in light of the July school holiday period and the opening of some state borders.”
“The fall in rents over the same period for a numbers of our capital cities suggests that the weakness in the rental market remains.
“Going forward, our expectation is the Australian rental market will remain weak for the duration of 2020 or until such time as the international border reopens and we as a community have past the worst of COVID-19.”
