Rental Vacancies End Year Up a Shade

Australia’s rental vacancies increased marginally in December, but there’s not a lot to cheer those looking for a home to rent.

According to data from SQM Research for the last month of 2023, vacancies nationally stood at 1.3 per cent, just up on the previous month’s 1.1 per cent.

The total number of rental vacancies Australia-wide now stands at 39,797 residential properties, an increase from 33,471 in November.

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane had steady increases of between 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, as is normal for December, according to SQM.

Adelaide also had some seasonality, but the vacancy rate only increased by 0.1 per cent, a reflection on the tight rental conditions in the SA capital.

“Hobart, Perth and Darwin do not have a pronounced seasonality like the largest capital cities, but aside from Hobart (which didn’t show any change), vacancy rates in Darwin and Perth increased by 0.1 per cent,” a spokesperson said.

“Rental conditions remain extremely tight in all three cities.

“Canberra had the most change, with the vacancy rate increasing by 0.3 per cent, which is not out of the ordinary for December.”

Vacancy rates, December, 2023

▲ Source: SQM Research

According to the data, which is based on online rental listings advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties, vacancy rates in the Sydney CBD and Brisbane CBD increased to 5.6 per cent and 3.2 per cent and in Melbourne CBD remained stagnant at 5.1 per cent for December.

SQM said for the 30 days to January 15, capital city asking rents rose by another 1.3 per cent with the 12-month rise standing at 14.2 per cent, while national rents across all regions rose by 9.9 per cent for the same 12- period.

The national median weekly asking rent for a home was $611.38 per week.

Sydney recorded the highest weekly rent for a house at $1022.35 per week, while Adelaide units offer the best rental affordability of all capital cities at $450.21 per week.