Rental Vacancy Rate Rises in March (SQM)

The national residential rental vacancy rate rose to 2.1% over the month of March 2021 from 2.0% in February. The total number of vacancies Australia-wide is now 72,436 residential properties.The rise in vacancy rates is abnormal for March. It is the first time in since 2007 vacancy rates rose for March compared to February.
The rise was driven by increases in vacancies in Sydney as well as a reversal in some of the tight rental markets of regional Australia.Melbourne’s vacancy rate slipped to 4.4% in March from 4.5% in February,
The Melbourne CBD vacancy rate now stands at 8.3%, while the Sydney CBD vacancy rate was 6.2% in March 2021.
Elsewhere, in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, the vacancy rate was below 1.0%. Brisbane’s rate remained at 1.5% in March 2021.
Over the month to 12th April 2021, capital city rents rose 1.3% for houses to $557 per week but fell 0.2% for units to $411.
Reflecting rental accommodation oversupply, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents fell by 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively.Over the year, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents are down substantially by 12.0% and 6.5%. Melbourne house rents fell by 0.5% over the month and by 6.1% over the year to 12th April. In Sydney, house rents rose by 0.9% from a year ago.
Elsewhere, house rents rose in Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane by more than 2.0% over the month to 12th April, while unit rents also rose. Over the year, rents have shown strong growth in the smaller cities, by as high as 25.5% for houses and 11.1% for units in Darwin. Nationally, house rents rose by 14.7% while unit rents rose 6.5%, pushed up by strong growth in regional locations around Australia.