July Vacancy Rates Steady

By Louis Christopher on 18 Aug 2015
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Figures released by SQM Research this week have revealed the number of residential vacancies remained steady across the nation in July 2015, with a vacancy rate of 2.4% posted based on 73,209 vacancies, slightly up from June when vacancies were 72,849. Vacancies were steady in most capital cities, excluding Brisbane, Canberra, and Perth were vacancy rates continued to climb. Hobart was the only city to record a fall in vacancies for the month.  

The biggest rise was recorded in Canberra with a monthly change of 0.3 percentage points from June. Perth soon followed with a rise of 0.2 percentage points. Over the year, vacancy rates in Perth have continued to climb with a significant 1.3% jump from this time last year. 

Year-on-year, vacancy rates are down for Hobart and to a lesser extent Melbourne, with Hobart vacancies falling 0.5 percentage points over the last year, bringing the total number of vacancies down to 324. Melbourne experienced similar yearly falls with vacancies falling from 2.6% to 2.3%, a total fall of 0.3 percentage points. Both falls reflect the tightening of the both residential markets post downturns.  

Asking Rents

Notably, Darwin has recorded a fall in asking rents of 20.5% for houses and 15.2% for units for the past 12 months, according to SQM Research. Yearly falls have also been recorded in Perth, with asking rents down 7.4% for houses and 6.3% for units. In contrast, Melbourne has recorded a rise of 3.0% for houses and 2.0% for units. Asking rents in Sydney and Adelaide have also recorded modest rises for the same period.

The Rental market is on balance slightly in favour of tenants at this point in time, though of course, each city tells its own story. Areas exposed to the ongoing mining downturn are generally experiencing falls in weekly rents. While areas exposed to the tourism market are recording a stronger rental market.

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. SQM considers this to be a superior methodology compared to using a potentially incomplete sample of agency surveys or merely relying on raw online listings advertised. Please go to our methodology page below for more information on how SQM’s vacancies are compiled.

Key Points

  • Nationally, vacancies rose during July 2015, recording a vacancy rate of 2.4%, based on 73,209 vacancies nationally.
  • Darwin has posted the biggest yearly rise in its vacancy rate from 1.4% to 3.5%.
  • During July, vacancy rates climbed the most in Canberra up 0.3 percentage points from June 2015.
  • Vacancy rates in Darwin, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide remained the same from June 2015 to July 2015.
  • Perth recorded the highest vacancy rate of the capital cities at 3.8% in July 2015 based on a total of 7,590 vacancies.
  • Vacancy rates in Sydney remained tight at 1.8% in July 2015, the same as this time last year (July 2014).
  • Hobart was the only city to record a fall in vacancies for the month. Vacancies are now down to 1.2% and asking rents have risen between 1.2% to 1.9% for the past 30 days. 

 

About the Author

SQM Research is an independent property advisory and forecasting research house which specialises in providing accurate property related advice, research and data to financial institutions, property developers and real estate investors. It is founded and run by one of the country's most recognised and respected property analysts, Louis Christopher.

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