This is what’s happened to rents in your capital city

Latest, Property Investment, Property Management

It’s the old story of supply and demand.

The recent building boom across Australian capital cities is helping to keep a lid on rent increases despite strong population growth according to Domain’s rental report.

In particular Sydney has experienced the biggest percentage fall in rents in more than 15 years in the wake of the city’s apartment building boom which has left Ghost Towers standing empty.

Sydney and Darwin were the only two cities to record a fall in asking rents over the year, while house rents in the other capital cities deteriorated slightly over the quarter.

Over the last year, asking rents for apartments in Sydney fell 4.5% from $550 to $525 while for houses rents dropped 3.6% from $550 to $530, according to Domain Group’s latest rent report.

Regular Property Update commentator Pete Wargent, made the following comments for The Australian Financial Review.

“We kicked off a big construction boom in 2012, which is now in its last legs for Sydney with the latest ABS figures showing that apartment commencements in Sydney are down by more than half over the past year

These things go in a cycle, but it forces landlords to provide a better product to compete for tenants, it frees up a bit of cashflow for the tenant which is good if they can rent for less. In the short term landlords might have to take a bit of a knock on the rent but it’s not necessarily all a bad thing.”

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. Visit: www.metropolepropertymanagement.com.au