REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate report shows drop in rental vacancies has also been mirrored by areas outside the Sydney area
The September REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate report has been released and reveals rental vacancies in Sydney have dropped to their lowest rate this year.
The drop was a substantial 0.7 per cent on August.
Middle Sydney saw the biggest drop of 0.9 per cent compared to August, followed by Outer Sydney (down 0.8 per cent) and Inner Sydney (down 0.3 per cent).
At a glance:
• The drop in vacancy rates in middle, outer and inner Sydney was 0.9, 0.8 and 0.3 per cent respectively
• Areas outside Sydney such as the Hunter and Illawarra followed Sydney’s trend, except Wollongong which saw an increase of 0.4 per cent.
• More than 50% of NSW regional areas also experienced a decrease in vacancies
It was a trend mirrored by the Hunter which is experiencing its lowest vacancy rates in years at just 1 per cent.
The Illawarra followed suit with a drop of 0.1 per cent, but Wollongong continues to buck the trend, with rental vacancies up by 0.4 per cent.
REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said that Sydney hasn’t seen such low vacancy rates since October last year.
“With a reduction in the available rental supply, we could see upward pressure on rents,” said Mr McKibbin.
“The Hunter continues to prove popular, with just 1% of rental properties there left unoccupied, while the Illawarra is back to July’s low rate of 2.2%.
“We do typically see vacancies decrease in the warmer months, so we can expect rates to remain low across New South Wales into the new year.”
Sydney region
Total vacancies across Sydney now sit at just 2.9 per cent.
It’s a significant shift for the rental market, with vacancies previously hovering above 3 per cent since November 2018.
Since August, vacancies in Outer Sydney have dropped from 3.5 per cent down to 2.7per cent, Middle Sydney is down to 3 per cent from 3.9 per cent, while vacancies in Inner Sydney are down from 3.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent.
50a Mirreen Street, Hawks Nest is available for rent. Photo: The Home Page
Drilling further down figures showed that Chatswood, Auburn and Arndell park saw the largest decrease in vacancies, while in stark contrast, Neutral Bay, North Sydney, Denistone, Forestville and Kurrajong all experienced vacancy rates in excess of 5 per cent.
Hunter region
Vacancies in the Hunter are down to just 1 per cent. It’s a low that hasn’t been seen since before REINSW started collecting vacancy data in April 2016.
Illawarra region
Total vacancies in the Illawarra decreased to 2.2 per cent down from 2.3 per cent. While most of the Illawarra experienced a dive in vacancies, Wollongong climbed for a second month.
The number of unoccupied properties in the coastal city is now at 2.8 per cent, a 1.2 per cent jump since July.
Other regional NSW areas
More than 50 per cent of the other regions also experienced a decrease in vacancies.
The South Eastern region experienced the most dramatic drop, down from 4.1 per cent to 1.2 per cent.
The Northern Rivers also saw a large fall from 2.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was Coffs Harbour, which saw a vacancy increase of 1.6 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent.
The REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate Report is based on the proportion of unlet residential dwellings to the total rent roll of REINSW member agents on the 15th of each month.