Nationally, advertised house rents rose 1.6% in the 30 days to 12 October, while units fell by the same margin. Unit asking prices declined over the month in seven of the eight capital cities.
SQM managing director Louis Christopher (pictured) said part of the strength in houses reflected seasonal spring demand, adding that “the more telling signal is in units, where tenants may finally be seeing some relief.”
Combined national rents still edged up 0.3% over the month to $704.76 a week, and remain 7.6% higher than a year earlier.
The national vacancy rate rose to 1.4% in September, from 1.3% in August and 1.2% a year earlier, with 42,290 dwellings available.
The easing is consistent with Cotality’s latest quarterly rental review, which found annual rental growth slowed from 5.9% to 5.5% over the September quarter.
“Sydney is the market to watch,” Christopher said.
The city’s house rents climbed 2.3% over the month to $1,159.28 a week, while units dropped 1% to $749.18. Sydney’s vacancy rate rose to 1.8%, up from 1.3% a year ago, with 13,331 dwellings available.
Melbourne’s vacancy rate also rose, reaching 1.9%. Both houses and units there declined over the month, leaving combined advertised rates 0.7% lower at $691.97 a week. Canberra’s vacancy rate eased to 1.9% from 2.1% in August.
Darwin led the capitals on annual growth, with combined rents up 13.9% to $735.35 a week. Hobart’s vacancy rate tightened to 0.5%, and while its unit rents fell 5.4% over the month, they remain 14.6% higher than a year ago, the fastest annual unit rent growth of any capital.
Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide also recorded vacancy rates below 1%, at 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.6% respectively. Brisbane’s combined rents were flat over the month at $754.49 a week but up 7.2% on a year earlier.
Christopher said that across the five smaller capitals, “there is little sign yet of relief for tenants in those cities.”
He said the coming months would show whether falling unit rents mark a broader slowdown in rental growth.
For more property insights, visit the SQM Research website.
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