Key takeaways
Australia's residential dwelling vacancy rate decreased back to 1.1% in March 2025, down from 1.5% in January 2025, according to SQM Research
The total number of rental vacancies fell to 34,428 dwellings.
Over the past month leading up to 12 April 2025, rental prices across Australia's capital city asking rents rose marginally, up by 0.2%.
This slight rise continues the trend of a national slowdown in rental growth, which has been a phenomenon since the start of 2024.
In Sydney, dwelling rents rose faster than the capital city average, rising by 1.0% for the past 30 days.
Melbourne recorded a 0.2% decrease, with combined rents falling to $647.
Brisbane recorded another strong monthly rise in rents, rising by 0.7%.
Perth recorded a surprise fall in rents, falling by 0.2% for the month.
Adelaide, recorded the largest fall in rents for any capital city, falling by 0.5%.
Canberra’s rental market remained stable, with rents unchanged at $686 a week.
Meanwhile, Darwin recorded a large surge in rents with a 3.3% rise for the month, while Hobart recorded a strong rise of 1.2% with combined rents increasing to $537 per week.
Nationally, combined rents increased by 0.2% to $654 per week.
Sydney
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $1,059.81 | 4.19 | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| All Units | $712.97 | 1.03 | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| Combined | $853.60 | 2.31 | 1.0% | 0.4% |
Source: SQM Research
Melbourne
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $756.62 | -1.62 | -0.4% | 2.2% |
| All Units | $569.67 | -1.67 | 0.0% | 2.0% |
| Combined | $647.27 | -1.65 | -0.2% | 2.2% |
Source: SQM Research
Brisbane
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $756.61 | 4.39 | 0.7% | 5.6% |
| All Units | $596.93 | 2.07 | 0.7% | 3.5% |
| Combined | $684.71 | 3.35 | 0.7% | 4.8% |
Source: SQM Research
Perth
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $830.73 | -6.73 | -1.1% | 6.3% |
| All Units | $645.36 | 1.64 | 1.3% | 8.6% |
| Combined | $753.80 | -3.26 | -0.2% | 7.2% |
Source: SQM Research
Adelaide
| Property Type | Rent $) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $668.80 | -4.80 | -1.2% | 6.1% |
| All Units | $525.88 | -4.88 | 1.1% | 12.6% |
| Combined | $620.19 | -4.83 | -0.5% | 8.0% |
Source: SQM Research
Canberra
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $809.85 | 2.15 | -1.0% | 4.8% |
| All Units | $582.15 | 2.85 | 1.2% | 2.0% |
| Combined | $685.60 | 2.53 | 0.0% | 3.4% |
Source: SQM Research
Darwin
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $734.62 | 1.38 | 1.1% | 4.8% |
| All Units | $545.09 | 9.91 | 5.3% | 10.7% |
| Combined | $622.23 | 6.44 | 3.3% | 7.9% |
Source: SQM Research
Hobart
| Property Type | Rent 9$) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $564.33 | -2.33 | -0.3% | 4.7% |
| All Units | $495.34 | 2.66 | 4.0% | 6.8% |
| Combined | $536.73 | -0.33 | 1.2% | 5.5% |
Source: SQM Research
National
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $729.00 | 2.00 | 0.6% | 5.3% |
| All Units | $567.00 | -6.00 | -0.4% | 4.8% |
| Combined | $653.81 | -1.71 | 0.2% | 5.1% |
Source: SQM Research
Cap City Average
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $856.00 | -1.00 | 0.1% | 2.6% |
| All Units | $642.00 | -1.00 | 0.5% | 2.2% |
| Combined | $742.11 | -1.00 | 0.3% | 2.5% |
Source: SQM Research
Vacancy Rates - March 2025
| City | Mar 2024 Vacancies | Mar 2024 Vacancy Rate | Feb 2025 Vacancies | Feb 2025 Vacancy Rate | Mar 2025 Vacancies | Mar 2025 Vacancy Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 8,234 | 1.1% | 11,155 | 1.5% | 9,412 | 1.3% |
| Melbourne | 5,620 | 1.1% | 9,326 | 1.8% | 8,194 | 1.5% |
| Brisbane | 3,363 | 1.0% | 3,445 | 1.0% | 3,207 | 0.9% |
| Perth | 912 | 0.5% | 1,201 | 0.6% | 1,091 | 0.6% |
| Adelaide | 888 | 0.5% | 1,070 | 0.7% | 988 | 0.6% |
| Canberra | 980 | 1.6% | 961 | 1.6% | 909 | 1.5% |
| Darwin | 357 | 1.4% | 277 | 1.1% | 210 | 0.8% |
| Hobart | 375 | 1.3% | 174 | 0.6% | 148 | 0.5% |
| National | 31,356 | 1.0% | 38,427 | 1.3% | 34,428 | 1.1% |
Source: SQM Research
Australia's residential dwelling vacancy rate decreased back to 1.1% in March 2025, down from 1.5% in January 2025.
The total number of rental vacancies fell to 34,428 dwellings.
Sydney’s rental vacancy rate decreased to 1.3%, with 9,412 rental dwellings now vacant, compared to 11,155 in February.
Melbourne also recorded vacancy falls with its vacancy rate falling to 1.5%, representing 8,194 vacant dwellings.
Brisbane also recorded a falling vacancy rate of 0.9%, with 3,207 rental properties now vacant and available for rent.
Darwin recorded the largest decline for the month, with vacancy rates falling sharply to just 0.8%.
Perth and Adelaide have the tightest rental markets with both cities recording a vacancy rate of just 0.6%.
Commentary
As stated last month, March is typically one of the peak months for rental demand, so the falls in rental vacancy rates recorded last month should not be a surprise.
The rental market remains tight; however, the situation has not deteriorated markedly so far in 2025.
Landlords also appeared to have reduced their rental expectations somewhat in some cities and the overall rate of rental growth has slowed since 2024.
Yet the rental crisis does remain with us.
A balanced rental market is one where rental vacancy rates are in the range of 2% to 3%.
Currently, no single capital city is in this range.
The combination of strong underlying growth in rental dwelling accommodation driven by ongoing surges in immigration; plus, the lack of a material increase in available rental dwellings, has kept the country in a very difficult socio-economic situation
