Vacancy rates remain steady at 1.2%, National rental asking prices increase marginally by 0.45% over the past 30 days, and property prices decrease by 2%.
Vacancy rates
The number of vacant properties increased by 122 properties nationally from 36,785 in April to 36,907 in May, with the vacancy rate remaining at 1.2% for a second consecutive month.
Vacancy rates remained steady across most capital cities and regional areas, including Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, and Hobart. Only Darwin recorded a slight 0.2% fall for the month.
Rental vacancy rates in Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD, and Brisbane CBD increased to 5.1%, 3.7%, and 2% over May.
Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research comments, “Rental vacancy rates were largely steady for the month, notwithstanding another rise in Sydney and Hobart. While there has been some easing in rental conditions especially in regional Australia, it is still very much a landlord’s market for most capital cities.”
Rental values
Over the past 30 days to 4 July 2023, capital city asking rents decreased by -0.4% for houses and increased by 1% for units. Nationally asking rents for houses increased by 0.5% and increased by 0.4% for units.
Over the past 12 months to 4 July 2023, capital city asking rents increased by 14.1% for houses and 21.4% for units. Nationally asking rents for houses increased by 9.2% and increased by 11.1% for units.
The national median asking rent for a house is $639 and for a unit is $499. The capital city average median asking for a house is $759 and for a unit is $584.
Hobart experienced decreases of -1.9% for houses and -2.3% for units across the past 30 days, while Darwin, Adelaide, and Brisbane units experienced increases of 4.5%, 2.9%, and 1.6% respectively.
Property prices
SQM Research reveal a 1.8% increase in listings in June and a 2% decrease in asking prices, compared to the month prior. The increase to 230,274 properties, from 226,262 recorded in May 2023, is predominantly influenced by rises in listings for Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
Capital city average asking prices experienced a modest decrease of -0.8% for houses and -0.5% for units, indicating the national decrease of -2.4% for houses has been driven by softening in regional housing markets.
Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research said, “Distressed property activity continues to remain relatively benign notwithstanding some large year-on-year rises in Tasmania. Our view is the large fixed rate mortgage resets have not as yet materially impacted the market, however, SQM Research will continue to monitor the situation on the ground closely.”
Cash rate and predictions
June saw the RBA increase the cash rate target to 4.1%.
Disclaimer: the information enclosed has been sourced from SQM Research and the Reserve Bank of Australia, and is provided for general information only. It should not be taken as constituting professional advice.
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