Home rental listings slump to record low
Rental listings in Sydney and Melbourne are continuing to fall at a time when demand is soaring due to increased migration and local demand. Peter Rae
Residential rental listings nationwide have dropped by 4.5 per cent over the past four weeks to 55,124 – a record low, as more landlords opt to turn their investment properties to short-term leasing market, data from SQM Research shows.
Rental listings in Sydney slumped by 5.7 per cent to 16,142 over the same period, to their lowest level in more than five years, while Melbourne fell by 3.6 per cent to 14,666 – a three-year low.
By contrast, listings have started to creep up in some regional areas where rents have surged the most during the pandemic.
A total of 11,043 Sydney homes are currently listed on Airbnb, which is comparable to the volume of long-term leasing in the city, according to SQM Research data.
In Melbourne, 15,500 rental properties are currently listed on the short-term leasing site while 4730 Brisbane homes are also being offered.
The shrinking pool of available rental properties and rising demand from international students and returning workers have fuelled a sharp drop in vacancies across the central business districts, Mr Christopher said.
The vacancy rate in Sydney's CBD dropped to 3.4 per cent, and fell to 2 per cent in Melbourne and to 2.2 per cent in Brisbane.
At their pandemic heights, Sydney’s vacancy rate soared to 16.2 per cent, it jumped to 10.8 per cent in Melbourne and to 14 per cent in Brisbane.
“With the falls in CBD rental vacancy rates to well below average, we have evidence that the rise in overseas arrivals is starting to put some additional demand pressure in certain pockets of the rental market,” said Mr Christopher.
“We will wait to see if the increased immigration demand creates pressure elsewhere.”
This article was originally posted by financial review, read the full article here.
