Newcastle's worrying high rental vacancy rate: REINSW
Jonathan ChancellorMay 27, 2015
The REINSW has noted a rise in vacancy rates in the NSW coastal regional city of Newcastle, up from 3.4 per cent to 4.6 per cent.
The Hunter also saw a rise from 3.1 per cent to 3.9 per cent, the April 2015 Real Estate Institute of New South Wales data revealed.
It has been suggested the spike reflects unemployment rates of 8.4 per cent at Newcastle or even higher around the Hunter region at 11.8%, according to the ABS.
Unemployment Rates by Labour Force Region, April 2015 (15+) (%)
| Labour Force Region | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|
| Sydney - Northern Beaches | 2.9 |
| Sydney - North Sydney and Hornsby | 3.6 |
| Sydney - Sutherland | 3.6 |
| Sydney - Eastern Suburbs | 3.7 |
| Sydney - Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury | 4.2 |
| Capital Region | 4.5 |
| Sydney - Inner West | 4.6 |
| Sydney - Outer West and Blue Mountains | 5.3 |
| Sydney - City and Inner South | 5.5 |
| Sydney - Parramatta | 5.6 |
| Far West and Orana | 5.7 |
| Central Coast | 5.8 |
| Riverina | 5.8 |
| Sydney - Outer South West | 6.2 |
| Sydney - Blacktown | 6.4 |
| Sydney - Ryde | 6.5 |
| Sydney - South West | 7.0 |
| Sydney - Inner South West | 7.3 |
| Coffs Harbour - Grafton | 7.5 |
| Mid North Coast | 7.8 |
| Central West | 8.1 |
| Illawarra | 8.1 |
| New England and North West | 8.2 |
| Murray | 8.4 |
| Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 8.4 |
| Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven | 8.7 |
| Richmond - Tweed | 8.8 |
| Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 11.8 |
It is a lot tighter south of Sydney Wollongong saw vacancies rise 0.8 per cent in the month to 1.8 percent.
There was a 0.3 per cent increase in the Illawarra to 1.3 per cent.
Sydney vacancy rates remained stable in April 2015, tightening in the inner and middle ring, but recording an increase in vacancy rates in the outer.
Jonathan Chancellor
Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.
