Sydney vacancy rate remains at record high in September: SQM Research

Sydney vacancy rate remains at record high in September: SQM Research
Staff reporterOctober 18, 2018

The national residential vacancy rate was steady at 2.1% in September 2018, according to data released by SQM Research.

The number of vacancies Australia-wide sat at 70,172 properties.

At a capital city level, Sydney’s vacancy rate remained at its highest level in 13 years, unchanged at 2.8% in September from August with 19,469 properties available for rent.  

Melbourne’s vacancy rate rose to 1.7% in September from 1.6% in August with 9,676 dwellings available for rent.  

Hobart’s vacancy rate slipped to just 0.4% and Canberra’s tightened to 0.6%. 

Click here to enlarge:

 

Brisbane’s vacancy rate rose to 2.9% from 2.8% in September, but was down from 3.5% a year ago.

Perth’s vacancy rate fell to 3.6% from 3.7% from August, being well down from 4.9% a year ago as the oversupply of rental properties.

Darwin’s vacancy rate rose to 3.6% from 3.5% while Adelaide's slipped to just 1.1% from 1.2%.

SQM’s calculations of vacancies are based on online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties.

Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research, said:

“There is now an extreme shortage of rental accommodation in Hobart with just over 100 properties vacant and available to rent.  

“Hobart rents have already been rising well above the national average for the past three years and I think that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future as the construction pipeline is not keeping up with underlying demand.

“There is a similar situation in Canberra.

“While we may speak of a surplus of rental properties in our largest city Sydney, this is a timely reminder that we have a mixed national housing market overall.”

Asking Rents

Capital city asking rents for houses were steady over the month to 12 October 2018 at $552 a week, while Unit asking rents fell to 0.7% to $437 a week, SQM Research said.

Over the year, asking rents for houses rose just 0.4% while unit asking rents slipped 0.2%.

The asking rent for a three-bedroom house in Sydney remains the highest nationwide at $714 a week and $513 a week for two-bedroom units.

Asking unit rents were down 0.4% in Sydney over the month while asking house rents rose 0.9%. 

Asking rents in Melbourne have fallen, with unit down 0.7% over the month to 12 October to $406 a week while asking rents for houses fell 0.5% to $524.

Click here to enlarge:

Editor's Picks

City Beat January 2025: Sydney property market cooldown slows as new apartment pipeline ramps up
26 Vista Street, Surfers Paradise apartment development, hits 70 per cent sold
Latent Defects Insurance 101: What is the Technical Inspection Service (TIS) Program
City Beat January 2025: Gold Coast property values continue to grow as off the plan enquiries hit near 12-month high
Live parkside in Melbourne for under $500,000