No worries Nata, I personally prefer SQM vacancy rate numbers, they have a better methodology for ascertaining the numbers than REIWA.
SQM - Residential Vacancy Rates - Perth
REIWA - Residential Vacancy Rates - Perth
Whoever's version of history you believe, one thing is certain, which is that the slight uptick in the SQM chart and the consolidation your seeing on the REIWA chart, these are to me confirmation of my suspicion that IP punters are buying up the listings. This is offsetting the '1000 a week' bodies the bulls like to spruik. Because, in a perfect world, if we weren't seeing an uplift in IP Punters in Perth those 1000 a week migrants would have made a big dent in the vacancy rate, but the vacancy rate isn't dropping, the new rentals coming online are absorbing the new arrivals.
This uplift in buying activity driven by these IP Punters could cause a vicious cycle in a unwinding of WA's economy as shown in the graphs above. A great deal of IP punters get frustrated after 18-24 months with bad experiences as landlords. Such as too much maintenance, lousy tenants etc. Now if you take the scenario of a hard landing, add in the latest wave of IP Punters we seeing now, the unwinding becomes so much more bitter. We lose some who are disenfranchised with lousy tenants, however this is exacerbated by IP Punters who are seeing their property depreciate as the mass exodus/capital flight/1000 punters a week departure begins. This can really lead to a mad rush to the exit, during these rushes in asset classes, assets can generally fall below their intrinsic value, which to a punter who has been refusing to become a debt slave and only pay for what a piece of dirt is truly worth, is quite refreshing!
