Vacancy Relief Fails to Break Rental Crisis Grip

National rental vacancy rates have edged up above the 1 per cent mark.

According to data from SQM Research, the rates increased to 1.1 per cent in April 2024, up on March’s 1 per cent.

Rental vacancies Australia-wide now stood at 33,177 residential properties, SQM said. 

Sydney recorded a rental vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent with 10,133 rental homes vacant, up from 1.1 per cent in March while Melbourne’s rate was steady at 1.1 per cent.

Canberra had the vacancy rate at 1.7 per cent, while Perth and Adelaide recorded the lowest vacancy rate at just 0.6 per cent.

Darwin recorded the biggest change as vacancies fell from 1.4 per cent in March to 1.1 per cent in April. 

Vacancy rates in the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide CBDs recorded rises in rental vacancies, indicating an easing of sorts in the inner-city, student-focused rental markets, according to SQM, while Canberra CBD, Perth CBD, Darwin CBD, Hobart CBD recorded steady-to-falling vacancy rates. 

▲ Sydney’s average weekly cost of renting a house is $1059, SQM data shows.

SQM said that during the 30 days to May 12, capital city asking rents had recorded a softer rise compared to recent periods, up just 0.5 per cent.

This increase is one of the slowest rises in market rents since the outbreak of the national rental crisis in 2021. 

Canberra and Hobart again recorded declines in rents of 0.9 per cent respectively.

Darwin recorded the fastest increase of 4.8 per cent. The second highest increase was from Adelaide at 2.2 per cent and next was Perth at 1.6 per cent. 

The national median weekly asking rent for a home is now $625 a week. Sydney’s $1059 a week is the nation’s highest while Hobart continued to offer the best rental affordability for unit rent of all capital cities at $459 a week. 

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said that although “we have recorded a slight easing in rental vacancy rates for April, the rental crisis is still far from over at this stage”.

“The immediate outlook is vacancy rates are set to rise somewhat into winter. This is the normal seasonality we get at this time of year so one should be a little careful about reading into these rises.

“Nevertheless, it might provide some minor relief to tenants who still have excessive difficulties in finding longer term rental accommodation around the country.”