The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinarsUrbanity
Industry Excellence
Urban Leader
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Urban Leader Awards Logos RGB White
NOMINATIONS CLOSE SEPTEMBER 12 RECOGNISING THE INDIVIDUALS BEHIND THE PROJECTS
NOMINATIONS CLOSING SEPTEMBER 12 URBAN LEADER AWARDS
LEARN MOREDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
63
print
Print
ResidentialTed TabetTue 13 Nov 18

National Vacancy Rate Tightens to 2%: SQM

34262da6-4bb4-40ba-85d2-34992fb5c7dc

The national residential vacancy rate fell to just 2 per cent in October, driven down by falling vacancies in many of Australia’s smaller cities and marking its lowest level since early 2014.

The national rate tightened from 2.1 per cent in September as vacancies in Brisbane narrowed to 2.7 per cent from 2.9 per cent down from 3.4 per cent a year ago.

Around 9,000 residential rentals are sitting empty in the city, compared with more than 19,500 in Sydney, as rising demand eats up surplus stock.

The asking rent for a three-bedroom house in Brisbane rose by 0.7 per cent over the past month to $453 a week, while unit rents also rose slightly by 1.7 per cent.

Hobart reached its lowest recorded rate of 0.3 per cent from 0.4 per cent a month earlier.

Conditions remain mixed in Hobart. Asking rents for units rose 5.0 per cent in October and are up 11.9 per cent year on year in the NSW capital, but asking rents for houses are falling.

Related: Tenants on Top in Sydney Rental Market


SQM Research National Vacancy Rate Figures

CityOctober 2017 VacanciesVacancy Rate2018 VacanciesVacancy RateOctober 2018 VacanciesVacancy Rate
Adelaide2,4951.4%2,1341.1%2,0571.1%
Perth8,8934.4%7,4213.6%6,7003.3%
Melbourne9,3901.7%9,6761.7%9,3201.6%
Brisbane10,7143.4%9,4942.9%9,0242.7%
Canberra5070.8%3910.6%3870.6%
Sydney12,4351.8%19,4692.8%19,4542.8%
Darwin7622.6%1,1183.6%1,1703.8%
Hobart750.3%1080.4%780.3%
National67,7812.1%70,1722.1%67,3502.0%

“In Hobart, there is a severe shortage of rental accommodation with just 78 properties available to rent, and rents are rising quickly, with no slowdown in sight,” SQM managing director Louis Christopher said.

“Australia’s national vacancy rate is being driven lower by falling vacancies in many of Australia’s smaller cities.”

A rental reversal looks set to continue in Sydney as a consequence of the flood of new rental properties in the market as well as inter-state migration.

“We are seeing a surplus of rental properties in Sydney and rental costs are falling, a trend we expect to continue into 2019,” Christopher said.

Sydney’s vacancy rate remained unchanged at 2.8 per cent and at its highest level in 13 years.

The asking rent for a three-bedroom house in the city remains the highest nationwide at $712 a week and $512 a week for two-bedroom units, though costs are falling.

Year on year, rents for houses and units have fallen 2.6 and 2.0 per cent respectively.

Melbourne’s vacancy rate remains steady at 1.6 per cent over October where asking rents for houses rose 0.4 per cent over the month to $526 a week while asking rents for units fell 0.1 per cent to $406.

ResidentialAustraliaReal EstateTrend
AUTHOR
Ted Tabet
The Urban Developer - Journalist
More articles by this author
website iconlinkedin icon
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
4 Min
Woolloongabba Precinct Vulture St
Exclusive

Brisbane Developer in Cross River Rail Compensation Tussle

Clare Burnett
4 Min
The Mondrian Gold Coast hotel's food and beverage is driving profits
Exclusive

Touch, Taste, Theatre: What’s Driving Mondrian’s Success

Renee McKeown
6 Min
Fortis’ display suites are designed as brand environments first, with tactile details and curated design to build buyer confidence before project specifics.
Exclusive

Relevant or Redundant: Will Tech Kill Display Suites?

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Missing Heart: Why The Gold Coast Needs a CBD

Phil Bartsch
7 Min
View All >
South Melbourne social housing precinct
Affordable & Social Housing

South Melbourne Housing Precinct Revamp Takes Next Step

Leon Della Bosca
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
JQZ Parramatta EDM
Residential

JQZ Plots 10-Storey Addition to Parramatta ‘Auto Alley’ Plans

Clare Burnett
The Sydney developer is pushing ahead with a project it picked up following the collapse of Dyldam in 2020....
LATEST
South Melbourne social housing precinct
Affordable & Social Housing

South Melbourne Housing Precinct Revamp Takes Next Step

Leon Della Bosca
2 Min
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
2 Min
JQZ Parramatta EDM
Residential

JQZ Plots 10-Storey Addition to Parramatta ‘Auto Alley’ Plans

Clare Burnett
3 Min
The Adelaide purpose built student accommodation market is about to increase by 1058 beds with the State Commission Assessment Panel supporting two towers in the making.
Student Housing

Highrise Approvals Add 1000-Plus PBSA Beds in Adelaide

Renee McKeown
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/national-vacancy-rate-tightens-to-2-sqm