Key takeaways
Capital city rental markets have continued to tighten over February with most cities reporting lower vacancy rates for both houses and units.
Most capitals reported higher or steady house rents over the month with Hobart the top performer up by 1.7% followed by Perth higher by 1.4%, Darwin up 0.2% with Melbourne and Adelaide steady.
House vacancy rates again predicably decreased in most capitals over February reflecting the usual surge in early year demand.
Capital city rental markets have continued to tighten over February with most cities reporting lower vacancy rates for both houses and units.
Most capitals reported higher or steady house rents over the month with Hobart the top performer up by 1.7% followed by Perth higher by 1.4%, Darwin up 0.2% with Melbourne and Adelaide steady.
Canberra house rents fell by 1.0%, Brisbane was down by 1.8% and Sydney fell 2.4% over the month.
Sydney continued to report the highest capital city house rents over February but lower at $800 per week with Melbourne continuing as the most affordable and steady at $580 per week.
Hobart, Perth and Brisbane have recorded solid annual increases in house rents up by 7.8%, 5.7% and 5.4% respectively with Adelaide higher by 2.8% and Canberra up 2.5%.
Sydney house rents have been steady over the past year with Melbourne down 1.7% and Darwin falling 3.2%.
House vacancy rates again predicably decreased in most capitals over February reflecting the usual surge in early year demand.
Rates continue at very low levels with all at or below 1.5% and clearly placing upward pressure on rents.
Median weekly asking rents February 2026 - Houses
| Rent | Month | Year | Vacancy Rate | Change | |
| Sydney | $800 | -2.4% | 0.0% | 1.2% | ↓ |
| Melbourne | $580 | 0.0% | -1.7% | 1.2% | ↓ |
| Brisbane | $685 | -1.8% | 5.4% | 0.8% | ↓ |
| Adelaide | $640 | 0.0% | 2.8% | 0.9% | ↓ |
| Perth | $740 | 1.4% | 5.7% | 0.8% | ↓ |
| Hobart | $608 | 1.7% | 7.8% | 0.5% | ↔ |
| Darwin | $751 | 0.2% | -3.2% | 0.4% | ↓ |
| Canberra | $718 | -1.0% | 2.5% | 1.0% | ↓ |
Units
Unit rental markets also generally tightened over February although rental growth was mixed.
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Perth was the top monthly performer with unit rents rising by 1.8% followed by Adelaide higher by 0.9% and Melbourne up 0.8%.
Unit rents however fell in all the other capitals with Brisbane down 0.5%, Darwin lower by 1.2%, Canberra down 1.3%, Sydney lower by 1.9%, and Hobart down 2.2%.
Annual unit rents have increased in all capitals except steady Melbourne with Darwin, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide highest, up by 11.5%, 7.7%, 6.1%, 5.9% and 5.5% respectively.
Sydney remains the clear leader for weekly unit rents but lower at $785, with Hobart still clearly the most affordable and lower at $493 per week.
Similar to houses, capital city unit vacancy rates were mostly lower over the month reflecting the usual February seasonal impacts with most remaining clearly low and indicating an ongoing shortage of available properties.
Median weekly asking rents February 2026 - Units
| Rent | Month | Year | Vacancy Rate | Change | |
| Sydney | $785 | -1.9% | 6.1% | 1.1% | ↓ |
| Melbourne | $600 | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.7% | ↓ |
| Brisbane | $675 | -0.5% | 5.9% | 1.1% | ↔ |
| Adelaide | $550 | 0.9% | 5.5% | 1.0% | ↔ |
| Perth | $700 | 1.8% | 7.7% | 0.6% | ↔ |
| Hobart | $493 | -2.2% | 0.8% | 0.9% | ↓ |
| Darwin | $633 | -1.2% | 11.5% | 0.7% | ↓ |
| Canberra | $585 | -1.3% | 2.6% | 1.4% | ↓ |
Comments
Although migration growth has continued to decline and first home buyer numbers have surged, this has been offset by lower new supply that has contributed to maintaining low vacancy rates into 2026.
Capital city rental markets have generally continued to report tightening conditions into February 2026 with falling vacancy rates that remain definitively low for both houses and units – outcomes set to continue through 2026 and set to place upward pressure on rents.
