Everything you need to know about the Aussie rental market this June in under 1 minute 

Article by Monika Malolepszy Marketing Specialist 7 June 2023

Here’s everything you need to know about the rental market right now if you’re a tenant in Australia.

Key takeaways for renters this month:

• Rental vacancies have increased in all cities.
• National rental vacancy rates have experienced a third consecutive monthly rise.
• The rental crisis in Canberra has been declared over, as vacancy rates have reached 2%.
• The rental crisis is “mostly over” in Regional Australia.

According to SQM Research, the national residential property rental vacancy rates continued their upward trend, reaching 1.2% in April 2023. This marks the third consecutive monthly increase in rental vacancies. Currently, there are 36,785 vacant residential properties across Australia.

Specifically, rental vacancy rates in Sydney and Melbourne rose to 1.4% and 1.2% respectively. Brisbane, Perth, and Hobart also experienced increases, with rates reaching 1.0%, 0.6%, and 1.6% respectively. Notably, the number of rental vacancies in Hobart has tripled since the all-time lows observed in April 2022.

In addition to the capital cities, rental vacancy rates in the CBDs of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane have surged to 4.0%, 3.3%, and 1.7% respectively.

Furthermore, most regional areas have witnessed a significant rise in rental vacancy rates, indicating a population shift back to the larger capital cities. The North Coast of NSW saw a rise to 1.8%, while Sydney’s Blue Mountains reached 2.0%, the highest level since April 2020. Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula recorded a rate of 1.7%, also the highest since April 2020. The Gold Coast Main experienced a rise to 1.3%, the highest level since September 2021. Lastly, the Sunshine Coast registered a rental vacancy rate of 1.6%, the highest level since May 2020.

How does your city stack up?

Sydney

The median weekly cost for a dwelling in Sydney was recorded at $784.29, a 0.2% increase over the past month.

Vacancy rate

Sydney’s vacancy rate remained steady at 1.4%.

Sydney vacancy rate: 1.4%

Melbourne

The median weekly cost to rent a dwelling in Melbourne was recorded at $583.47 in May.

Overall, the cost to rent across units and houses combined has risen by 21.8% in Melbourne over the past year.

Vacancy rate

Over March, the vacancy rate was recorded as being slightly lower than Sydney’s, sitting at 1.2% in Melbourne.

Melbourne vacancy rate April 2023: 1.2%

Brisbane

The median weekly cost for a dwelling in Brisbane was recorded at $609.76 – a 15.3% increase compared to one year ago.

Vacancy rate 

The lowest rate out of the three major capital cities was recorded in Brisbane, sitting at 1% in May 2023.

Brisbane vacancy rate April 2023: 1%

About the data:

The findings in this report are based on the latest insights from SQM Research as of 14 March 2023. SQM Research is an independent investment research institute that specialises in providing accurate property market data. It is operated by one of the country’s leading property analysts, Louis Christopher.