There’s a saying about taking the good with the bad and for renters in the Hunter this month it rings ever true.
Not only can tenants breathe a sigh of relief that rents have not increased like most months this year, but the truth is they’d better hold on to the property they’re in because there aren’t many other options available.
Figures released on Wednesday 11 October by Australian-based real estate data tracking group PropTrack show the number of vacant rental properties in the Hunter region has hit a new low.
Over the past three months, the rate has dropped 0.33% in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, and 0.26% in the Hunter Valley.
The region joins the rest of the state in reaching a new low in rental vacancy rates, according to the latest PropTrack Market Insight Report.
Findings show vacancy was down in both capital city and regional areas, with renters feeling the squeeze across the country.
“Rental conditions deteriorated further in September, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant hitting a new low,” said PropTrack Economist and report author Anne Flaherty.
“Vacancy is now sitting well under 1% in three of Australia’s capital cities.”
And, more markets are expected to fall below 1% over the coming year as demand continues to grow.
“Across Australia’s regional areas, every state has seen vacancy fall by at least 20 percentage points over the quarter,” said Ms Flaherty.
“Declining vacancy rates are increasing competition for rentals and placing growing pressure on rents.
“As a result, rents are predicted to continue rising at above trend levels over the coming months, particularly in the capitals.”
The national rental vacancy rate dropped 0.06 percentage points (ppt) in September to reach a new low of just 1.06%.
The proportion of rental properties sitting vacant is now 55% below March 2020 levels.
Sydney and Melbourne saw drops in available rentals, while Brisbane, Perth and Darwin remained steady.
South Australia now has the lowest vacancy rate in the country, sitting at just 0.65% in both Adelaide and regional SA.
Hobart saw the sharpest drop of the capitals, with the number of available rentals on the apple isle falling 0.13% to 1.4% over the month.
The good news for renters is that rental price growth in regional NSW is continuing to slow.
In fact the PropTrack report found that rents had remained unchanged in regional NSW over the September quarter and up a slight 2% over the year.
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