Source: Australian Property Journal
The national residential vacancy rate has been crunched to just 1% – its lowest level in 16 years – and is set to tighten further, as rents skyrocket and the national rental crisis worsens.
New data from SQM Research showed there were 36,478 vacant properties across the country in May, down from 39,616 in April.
Vacancy rates in Sydney and Melbourne came down over the month to 1.5% and 1.7% respectively, and were steady in their CBDs at 3.5% and 2.9%.
Adelaide has the lowest vacancy rate, at just 0.3%, with Hobart at 0.4% and Darwin at 0.5%.
Next is Perth with 0.6%, while Canberra and Brisbane are both at 0.75.
“Rental vacancy rates continued to tighten across the country and there is nothing yet in the data that would suggest we are about to see a reprieve,” said SQM Research managing director, Louis Christopher said.
“The national rental crisis continues on unabated and as a result, asking rents are skyrocketing.”
Rents have risen by another 2% in the past 30 days. SQM Research data shows Sydney combined rents have surged by 17.5% just over the past 12 months, while Brisbane is up by 18.6% in that period, and Melbourne by 14.8%.
Adelaide’s combined rents are up 18.1% over 12 months, and by 11.4% in Canberra, 10.9% in Perth, and 6.7% in Darwin after a monthly fall.
“Reductions in household size, short term stay listings eating into longer-term lease availability and now the likely rise in immigration levels, are all factors contributing to this crisis.
“There will also be ramifications for headline inflation once the Australian Bureau of Statistics update their rental series with the actual market.”
A survey commissioned by Savvy showed 1.42 million Australians are spending in the range of 31% to 45% of their income on rent payments, and another 1.12 million are using 46% to 60% of their income for rent.
Young Australians are the most represented in those self-reporting as significantly worried about rent or potential rent increases in the coming months or years, with 50% of 18 to 24-year-olds labelling rent as a major stressor.
Cost-of-living pressures are mounting. Inflation is at 5.1% and wage growth at just 2.3%. An alarming number of Australians are being pushed to the brink of poverty and homelessness due to the explosion in rents and the dwindling supply of social housing, according to the Productivity Commission.
