Australia's national residential vacancy rate rose to 1.3% in June, up from 1.2% in May, according to the latest data from SQM Research.
The total number of vacant dwellings nationally climbed to 39,229, from 37,844 the month before, though every capital city continues to record vacancy rates below 2%, underscoring the persistent shortage of rental stock across the country.
Conditions varied across the capitals. Sydney and Melbourne both sit at 1.6%, while Canberra rose to 1.7% and Hobart edged up to 0.7%. At the other end of the scale, Perth tightened further to 0.6% and Adelaide held at 0.7%, with Brisbane unchanged at 0.9%. Darwin remains the nation's tightest market by a wide margin, holding at just 0.3% with only 64 dwellings available.
SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher (pictured) said the modest rise in vacancies doesn't change the underlying picture.
"While the national vacancy rate has edged up to 1.3%, Australia's rental market remains exceptionally tight by historical standards. Most capital cities continue to record vacancy rates below 1% or only marginally above, highlighting that rental supply remains insufficient to meet demand," Christopher said.
That tightness is being felt directly by tenants. A recent Finder survey found 47% of renters struggled to pay rent in June, compared with 38% of homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments, with landlords increasingly passing on their own higher borrowing costs through rent increases.
National advertised rents fell 0.4% over the past month but remain 8.1% higher than a year ago, with the national combined rent average now at $697.43 per week. Darwin, Hobart, and Brisbane continue to record the strongest annual rental growth nationally.
"The encouraging sign is that rental growth appears to be moderating in some markets, with national asking rents easing slightly over the past month. However, annual rental growth remains strong at 8.1 per cent, and cities such as Darwin, Hobart, and Brisbane continue to experience significant rental inflation," Christopher said.
Rental tightness is also squeezing investor cash flow. Separate Cotality research found just 0.8% of Australian suburbs currently deliver positive cash flow for investors, with research director Tim Lawless noting that even falling prices paired with rising rents would leave yields "a long way off a positive cash flow scenario after allowing for costs."
Christopher added that without a meaningful lift in rental supply, particularly in Perth and Darwin, affordability pressures are likely to persist for tenants in the near term.
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