Sydney rental vacancies going nowhere fast

Rental vacancies remain tight but steady in Sydney according to the latest data released by REINSW today.

Whilst the percentage of available properties in Sydney remained unchanged in October 2009 compared to the previous month, there was an increase recorded in Wollongong.

Rental vacancies were unchanged in Newcastle.

“Unfortunately the rental picture in Sydney remains gloomy with no increase in the vacancy rate since July 2009,” said REINSW President Steve Martin.

“For October the available rental vacancy rate remained at 1.3%, which means the market remains very tight in Sydney.

“Sydney’s middle suburbs faired better with a 0.1% increase to 1.5% for the month of October, whilst Inner suburbs recorded a 0.1% decrease to 1.3%. There was no change in the rental vacancy rate for Outer suburbs, which remained at 1.0%.

“The news was slightly better in Wollongong with the city recording a good increase in available properties for the month.

“Wollongong recorded a 0.2% increase to 1.8%, which is the highest result recorded since April 2009.

“Meanwhile Newcastle remained unchanged at 1.6%.

“Investment in rental properties has improved over the later part of this year with lower interest rates and good rental income enticing investors into the market. Unfortunately, this combined with the move of first home buyers out of rental accommodation has still not enabled rental supply to match demand.

“As these stimulus factors weaken, and with no sign of demand abating, things will only continue to be difficult for renters over the foreseeable future.

“The government needs to urgently encourage and incentivize better use of land particularly in the 5 – 10 kilometre radius from Sydney.

“We need a strategic approach in NSW to solve this problem in order to avoid a worse situation in 2010,” said Mr Martin.

Members can access Vacancy Rate Survey results for the years 2001 to 2008 by clicking here.

REINSW