National vacancy rates fall, but Perth drags down results: SQM Research
SQM Research’s latest residential vacancy rates saw the national figures drop slightly during July – bringing the total to 2.3% nationally at 67,190 vacancies.
Higher vacancies across the country is a longer term trend and the rental market is remaining sluggish, explained SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher.
Asking rents rose from 1.2% to 1.7% at capital city level.
“Perth rents have dragged down the overall result. It’s quite clear rents in Western Australia are falling quickly,” he said.
“Given our view that vacancy rates are likely to rise from these levels we are expecting a soft rental market for quite some time and certainly, well into 2015.”
Capital city vacancy rates
- Melbourne – 2.6%
- Perth – 2.5%
- Brisbane – 2.3%
- Canberra – 2.1%
- Sydney – 1.8%
- Hobart – 1.7%
- Adelaide – 1.5%
- Darwin – 1.4%
Source: SQM Research
Perth and Darwin are far above their July 2013 recorded vacancy rates, at 1.6% and 0.8% respectively, while Hobart has dropped since its 2.3% result a year ago.
Sydney and Melbourne have remained steady when compared to their July 2013 result.
SQM Research noted that the figures match landlord sentiment, with their Asking Rents Index seeing just a 0.7% lift for houses on a national level, and a 0.6% lift for units on a national level since 2013.