These are the best and worst suburbs for rental properties

Australia's rental markets are tightening with the vacancy rate falling in May for the second consecutive month nationally and now sitting at 1.7 per cent according to Domain's May Vacancy Report.

The last time national vacancy rates were this low was in February 2020, the month before the COVID pandemic caused widespread lockdowns.

This is the equal lowest national vacancy rate since Domain records began in 2017.

Capital City Rental Vacancy Rates May 2021
	May-21	Apr-21	May-20	Monthly Change	Annual Change
National	1.7%	1.8%	2.2%	↓	↓
Sydney	2.7%	2.9%	3.6%	↓	↓
Melbourne	3.8%	4.2%	2.9%	↓	↑
Brisbane	1.3%	1.4%	2.4%	↓	↓
Perth	0.8%	0.8%	1.8%	–	↓
Adelaide	0.6%	0.6%	1.1%	–	↓
Hobart	0.4%	0.5%	1.2%	↓	↓
Canberra	0.8%	0.8%	1.3%	–	↓
Darwin	0.5%	0.6%	2.6%	↓	↓
Source: Domain The vacancy rate represents the portion of available, empty rental properties relative to the total stock of rental property. The rental vacancy rate is based on adjusted Domain rental listings and will be subject to slight revisions over time.

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According to Domain research the majority of cities recorded a tightening vacancy rate, with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Darwin falling over May.

While Perth, Canberra and Adelaide held steady over the month.

In Sydney, the vacancy rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels, falling from 2.9 per cent to 2.7 per cent which is the same as for March 2020, one month before the pandemic induced a bounce in the vacancy rate to 4 per cent.

In Melbourne, vacancy rates are still high, but they have been falling rapidly from the 5.4 per cent peak in December last year.

For the second month in a row, Melbourne’s vacancy rate tightened more than any other capital, declining from 4.2 per cent to 3.8 per cent.

There were just under 22,000 estimated vacant rental listings at the end of May, a decline of 10 per cent on the previous month.

Obviously, Melbourne's extended lockdown will once again impact its rental market particularly in regions with a high proportion of people working in the hospitality and tourism sectors

Meanwhile, Brisbane, Darwin and Adelaide are at their lowest vacancy rates since Domain records began in 2017.

Suburbs with the biggest drop in rental vacancies

Areas with the biggest drop in estimated number of vacant rentals
Rank	City	Area
1	Melbourne	Melbourne City
2	Melbourne	Stonnington – West
3	Melbourne	Glen Eira
4	Sydney	Sydney Inner City
5	Melbourne	Monash
6	Melbourne	Port Phillip
7	Melbourne	Yarra
8	Melbourne	Whitehorse – West
9	Brisbane	Brisbane Inner
10	Melbourne	Boroondara
11	Sydney	Canada Bay
12	Sydney	Auburn
13	Melbourne	Brunswick -Coburg
14	Melbourne	Dandenong
15	Sydney	Ryde – Hunters Hill
16	Brisbane	Brisbane Inner – North
17	Melbourne	Manningham – West
18	Melbourne	Darebin – North
19	Sydney	Bankstown
20	Melbourne	Essendon
Areas are based on ABS SA3 geography that are located in a capital city GCCSA. These are the areas with the biggest drop in estimated number of vacant rentals.

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Suburbs with the highest vacancy rates

Highest vacancy rates across capital city areas May 2021
Rank	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane & Gold Coast	Perth	Adelaide
1	Parramatta (4.6%)	Melbourne City (8.6%)	Brisbane Inner (3.4%)	Perth city (1.7%)	Adelaide City (4.7%)
2	Auburn (4.4%)	Stonnington – East (7.8%)	Sherwood – Indooroopilly (2.5%)	Cottesloe – Claremont (1.5%)	Prospect – Walkerville (0.9%)
3	Strathfield – Burwood – Ashfield (3.9%)	Whitehorse – West (6.1%)	Brisbane Inner – West (2.3%)	South Perth (1.1%)	Holdfast Bay (0.9%)
4	Canterbury (3.6%)	Stonnington – West (5.8%)	Nathan (2.2%)	Belmont – Victoria Park (1.1%)	Norwood – Payneham – St Peters (0.8%)
5	Ku-ring-gai (3.2%)	Boroondara (5.6%)	Mt Gravatt (2.1%)	Canning (1%)	Burnside (0.7%)
Source: Domain The vacancy rate represents the portion of available, empty rental properties relative to the total stock of rental property. The rental vacancy rate is based on adjusted Domain rental listings and will be subject to slight revisions over time. Areas are based on ABS SA3 geography that are located in a capital city GCCSA.

Data provided by

Suburbs with the lowest vacancy rates

Lowest vacancy rates across capital city areas May 2021
Rank	Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane & Gold Coast	Perth	Adelaide
1	Camden (0.3%)	Yarra Ranges (0.2%)	Capalaba (0.2%)	Kwinana (0.3%)	Gawler – Two Wells (0.1%)
2	Blue Mountains (0.4%)	Nillumbik – Kinglake (0.4%)	Caboolture Hinterland (0.3%)	Wanneroo (0.4%)	Marion (0.1%)
3	Wyong (0.4%)	Maroondah (0.4%)	Nerang (0.3%)	Serpentine – Jarrahdale (0.4%)	Playford (0.2%)
4	Gosford (0.6%)	Cardinia (0.4%)	Coolangatta (0.3%)	Cockburn (0.4%)	Tea Tree Gully (0.2%)
5	Campbelltown (NSW) (0.6%)	Mornington Peninsula (0.5%)	Wynnum – Manly (0.4%)	Swan (0.4%)	Salisbury (0.2%)

Data provided by

About Leanne Jopson Leanne is National Director of Property Management at Metropole and a Property Professional in every sense of the word. With 20 years' experience in real estate, Leanne brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to maximise returns and minimise stress for their clients.