Key takeaways
The Australian rental market for housing appears to have eased over June 2024 with a rise in the number of vacant rental properties across the nation.
The number of rental vacancies rose by 4,845 dwellings to stand at 40,486 vacant rental dwellings, representing a vacancy rate of 1.3%.
Over the past 30 days to the 12th of July 2024, capital city asking rents recorded a minor increase of 0.1%.
The overall national change was a rise of 0.3%.
This increase represents one of the slower rises in market rents since the outbreak of the national rental crisis in 2021.
The total number of rental vacancies Australia-wide now stands at 40,486 residential properties.
Over the past 30 days leading up to the 12th of September 2024, the capital city asking rents experienced varied changes.
Brisbane and Perth also saw declines, with Brisbane’s combined rents falling by 0.8%, Perth's falling by 0.5%.
Hobart and Canberra also showed a decrease of 0.6% and 1.2% respectively, where Canberra’s combined rents fall is the biggest among the cities.
In contrast, Sydney recorded an increase in house rents by 0,6% to $1,031.09 per week.
Cities like Adelaide and Darwin saw increases, with Adelaide's house rents rising by 0.9%.
The national median weekly rent for a dwelling is now $719.80, with Darwin showing the most significant monthly growth, particularly in house rents, which surged by 9.6%.
Sydney
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $1,031.09 | -0.09 | 0.6% | 5.5% |
| All Units | $695.09 | 2.91 | 0.2% | 4.8% |
| Combined | $831.48 | 1.69 | 0.4% | 5.2% |
Source: SQM Research
Melbourne
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $744.09 | -3.09 | 0.8% | 7.0% |
| All Units | $557.84 | -0.84 | 0.1% | 6.1% |
| Combined | $634.80 | -1.77 | 0.4% | 6.6% |
Source: SQM Research
Brisbane
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $723.55 | 1.45 | -1.1% | 5.1% |
| All Units | $571.86 | -0.86 | -0.3% | 4.2% |
| Combined | $655.27 | 0.41 | -0.8% | 4.8% |
Source: SQM Research
Perth
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $784.01 | 2.99 | 0.5% | 9.7% |
| All Units | $608.98 | -1.98 | -2.2% | 11.6% |
| Combined | $711.10 | 0.92 | -0.5% | 10.4% |
Source: SQM Research
Adelaide
| Property Type | Rent $) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $661.06 | 0.94 | 0.6% | 12.9% |
| All Units | $505.08 | -0.08 | 1.0% | 15.7% |
| Combined | $607.67 | 0.59 | 0.7% | 13.8% |
Source: SQM Research
Canberra
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $762.70 | -12.70 | -2.2% | 2.4% |
| All Units | $558.25 | 1.75 | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Combined | $651.53 | -4.84 | -1.2% | 1.2% |
Source: SQM Research
Darwin
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $745.92 | -1.92 | 9.6% | 5.0% |
| All Units | $506.26 | 10.74 | -6.4% | 4.3% |
| Combined | $603.46 | 5.61 | 1.0% | 4.7% |
Source: SQM Research
Hobart
| Property Type | Rent 9$) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $531.96 | -0.96 | -0.5% | 4.4% |
| All Units | $458.35 | 1.65 | -0.9% | 1.0% |
| Combined | $502.43 | 0.09 | -0.6% | 3.1% |
Source: SQM Research
National
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $695.00 | 3.00 | 0.4% | 6.9% |
| All Units | $549.00 | 2.00 | 0.9% | 7.9% |
| Combined | $627.21 | 2.54 | 0.6% | 7.3% |
Source: SQM Research
Cap City Average
| Property Type | Rent ($) | Weekly change | Monthly change | 12 Months change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | $830.00 | -2.00 | 0.7% | 6.7% |
| All Units | $623.00 | 2.00 | 0.0% | 6.3% |
| Combined | $719.80 | 0.13 | 0.4% | 6.5% |
Source: SQM Research
Vacancy Rates - August 2024
| City | Aug 2023 Vacancies | Aug 2023 Vacancy Rate | Jul 2024 Vacancies | Jul 2024 Vacancy Rate | Aug 2024 Vacancies | Aug 2024 Vacancy Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 10,281 | 1.4% | 12,123 | 1.7% | 11,893 | 1.6% |
| Melbourne | 6,773 | 1.3% | 7,979 | 1.5% | 8,733 | 1.6% |
| Brisbane | 3,245 | 0.9% | 3,786 | 1.1% | 3,888 | 1.1% |
| Perth | 862 | 0.4% | 1,462 | 0.8% | 1,311 | 0.7% |
| Adelaide | 839 | 0.5% | 1,103 | 0.7% | 1,021 | 0.6% |
| Canberra | 1,168 | 1.9% | 1,312 | 2.2% | 1,278 | 2.1% |
| Darwin | 266 | 1.0% | 190 | 0.7% | 184 | 0.7% |
| Hobart | 476 | 1.7% | 335 | 1.2% | 318 | 1.1% |
| National | 35,425 | 1.2% | 39,701 | 1.3% | 39,665 | 1.3% |
Source: SQM Research
Meanwhile, Sydney’s rental vacancy rate slightly dropped to 1.6%, now there are 11,893 rental dwellings vacant.
Melbourne’s vacancy rate slightly increased by 0.1% and now shows the same index as Sydney 1.6%, with 8,733 vacant dwellings.
Compared to August 2023, over the past 12 months, Sydney’s vacancy rate increased, the same as Melbourne's rate by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
Canberra again recorded the highest rental vacancy rate of any state or territory at 2.1%, however, the index has come back to 2.1% as of June 2024 after an increase in July 2024.
Perth and Darwin showed the same vacancy rates, 0.7% for both.
Adelaide experienced the lowest vacancy rates at 0.6%.
Hobart continued to decline, however, it noticeably slowed down.
The vacancy rate is now 1.1%.
The total number of rental vacancies across Australia now stands at 39,665 residential properties, a slight decrease from the 39,701 vacancies recorded in July 2024, but still above the 35,425 vacancies in August 2023.
Nationally, the vacancy rate has remained stable at 1.3% from July 2024, and over the past year increased by 0.1%.
Vacancy rates in the Sydney CBD saw an increase from 4.6% in August 2023 to 5.1% in August 2024.
Melbourne CBD saw a slight increase from 5.2% in August 2023 to 5.3% in August 2024.
Brisbane CBD continued to experience strong demand with a low vacancy rate of 2.5%.
Canberra CBD experienced a dramatic decrease from 4.0% in August 2023 to 3.5% in August 2024.
Comment
National rental vacancy rates fell slightly in August, and we are now expecting further falls in vacancies through spring, however, this will be just a seasonal change so we are not anticipating a reacceleration of rents, which have eased in recent months.
Overall, the national rental market remains in severe shortage and barring some exceptions, is not expected to materially soften out of the rental crisis for some years.
However, much of the structural rental shortage has now been priced into the rental market and so I do believe the days of 10-20% plus annual rental increases have come to an end.
- Also read:Perth housing market update [video] | September 2024
- Also read:Vacancy Rates Hold Steady at 1.3% | SQM Research
- Also read:Brisbane housing market update [video] | September 2024
- Also read:Is the Rental Boom Over? The Latest on Easing Rent Growth | Property Insiders
- Also read:Sydney housing market update [video] | September 2024
