I haven't had a chance to look at these vacancy rates in depth but I have to say the website you linked to looks to be quiet a useful one, very well organised.
I am confused by the disparity between the vacancy rates shown on that site and vacancy rates published by other organisations.
REIA is ofcourse one source, RBA is another and ABS is a third although I think ABS draw their figures from the REIA so they may not count.
I was curious where SQM research got their figures (since they are so different from anyone else's) and I found their disclaimer here for demographics http://sqmresearch.com.au/graphs/terms.php
So, as far as the demographics go, they got them from ABS.
However the vacancy rates are not as specifically credited. They say "a number of external sources" on this page http://sqmresearch.com.au/graphs/terms_vacancy.php
I am not saying that the figures are wrong, I am just stunned at how different they are from other sources and I am trying to determine why.
I will say that I am very keen to establish the veracity of these figures because terms like "over-supply" and "under-supply" are ignorantly used on hotcopper. Over or under supply is more accurately reflected in vacancy rates, not by how many houses are on the market as some people assume.
If SQM research are accurate then some areas like West Melbourne should see declining rents. I am very curious whether this will be the case.
Areas like South-East Melburne (where I am interested in buying) look healthy but I am aware of the seasonal nature of the figures.
Basically, I need to understand where these figures come from because nobody else has the same figures.
