Vacancy Rates: February 2021

Capital city rental vacancy rates – February 2021 Feb-21 Jan-21 Feb-20 MoM ∆ YoY ∆ Sydney 2.8% 2.9% 2.6% ↓ ↑ Melbourne 4.7% 4.6% 1.6% ↑ ↑ Brisbane 1.4% 1.6% 2.1% ↓ ↓ Perth 0.7% 0.7% 1.8% – ↓ Adelaide 0.6% 0.6% 0.8% – ↓ Hobart 0.5% 0.4% 0.6% ↑ ↓ Canberra 0.8% 0.9% 1% ↓ ↓ Darwin 0.8% 0.8% 3.2% – ↓ National 1.9% 1.9% 1.7% – ↑ Note: The vacancy rate represents the portion of available, empty rental properties relative to the total stock of rental property. The rental vacancy rate is based on adjusted Domain rental listings and will be subject to slight revisions over time. Nationally, the vacancy rate held steady in February at levels recorded before the pandemic, at 1.9 per cent. This is the lowest vacancy rate since March 2020, the month before the COVID-19 induced peak of 2.6 per cent in April 2020. In certain areas, competition between tenants will be fierce as tight vacancy rates remain across some capital cities. Many tenants will find themselves operating in a landlords market and should brace for rental price hikes. February was a month with mixed results across the capital cities. Vacancy rates in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra continued to tighten, while Melbourne and Hobart rose. Perth, Adelaide and Darwin vacancy rates all held steady. As February draws to a close, the longer-term annual growth figures show the true extent of how COVID-19 has affected capital city rental markets since February 2020, a month before the beginning of the pandemic. Melbourne and Sydney vacancy rates have slid from the COVID-19 induced peak, indicating the worst is behind landlords. However, annual vacancy rates remain higher, fuelled by prolonged lockdowns and higher vacancies concentrated in inner-city apartment markets due to a lack of international students and hard national border closures. Sydney’s and Melbourne’s rental markets are far from uniform; inner-city areas or those close to universities remain tenants’ markets while outer suburban areas continue to be landlords’ markets. All other capitals have drifted below their vacancy rates from February 2020. This will be a welcome boost for landlords, especially those in Perth who have seen a stark turnaround in the vacancy rate in recent years, falling from 5.0 per cent in June 2017 to a mere 0.7 per cent in February 2021. Sydney’s vacancy rate is the second-highest of all the capitals, rising to 2.8 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent in February 2019. There were an estimated 17,769 vacant rental listings at the end of February, an approximate rise of 9 per cent in estimated vacant rental listings over the year. Tenants will find the most pronounced rise in vacant rentals in the Inner City, Strathfield-Burwood-Ashfield, Parramatta, Kogarah-Rockdale and Eastern Suburbs-South. Melbourne tenants will find vast rental options, with estimated vacant rental listings jumping 212 per cent year-on-year to just under 27,000. The best chance of a rent negotiation will be in Melbourne City, Stonnington-West, Port Phillip, Boroondara and Glen Eira; these areas have seen the sharpest rise in vacant rentals. Highest vacancy rates Highest vacancy rates across greater capital city areas – February 2021 Rank Sydney Melbourne Brisbane & Gold Coast Perth Adelaide 1 Parramatta, 4.9% Melbourne City, 11.7% Brisbane – Inner, 4.3% Perth City, 1.3% Adelaide City, 5.2% 2 Strathfield – Burwood – Ashfield, 4.5% Stonnington – East, 8.7% Sherwood – Indooroopilly, 3.7% Cottesloe – Claremont, 1.0% Prospect – Walkerville, 1.0% 3 Auburn, 4.2% Stonnington – West, 8.0% Brisbane Inner- West, 2.9% South Perth, 1.0% Holdfast Bay, 0.8% 4 Botany, 4.0% Whitehorse – West, 7.5% Nathan, 2.4% Canning, 0.9% Norwood – Payneham – St Peters, 0.6% 5 Pennant Hills – Epping, 3.9% Boroondara, 6.5% Mt Gravatt, 2.3% Melville, 0.8% Unley, 0.5% Source: Domain Note: The vacancy rate represents the portion of available, empty rental properties relative to the total stock of rental property. The rental vacancy rate is based on adjusted Domain rental listings and will be subject to slight revisions over time. domain Embed this table Lowest vacancy rates Lowest vacancy rates across capital city areas – February 2021 Rank Sydney Melbourne Brisbane & Gold Coast Perth Adelaide 1 Camden, 0.4% Mornington Peninsula, 0.3% Caboolture Hinterland, 0.1% Wanneroo, 0.2% Tea Tree Gully, 0.1% 2 Wyong, 0.4% Nillumbik – Kinglake, 0.3% Capalaba, 0.2% Gosnells, 0.3% Gawler – Two Wells, 0.1% 3 Blue Mountains, 0.5% Yarra Ranges, 0.3% Nerang, 0.2% Armadale, 0.3% Marion, 0.2% 4 Gosford, 0.5% Cardinia, 0.4% Mudgeeraba – Tallebudgera, 0.3% Rockingham, 0.4% Playford, 0.2% 5 Wollondilly, 0.8% Casey – North, 0.7% Coolangatta,0.3% Cockburn, 0.4% Port Adelaide -East, 0.3% Source: Domain Note: The vacancy rate represents the portion of available, empty rental properties relative to the total stock of rental property. The rental vacancy rate is based on adjusted Domain rental listings and will be subject to slight revisions over time.