Rental woes worsen for Townsville tenants – realestate.com.au

News Corp Australia Network

Townsville tenants are facing less choice in rental markets. Picture: Alix Sweeney

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Finding a rental is getting harder for Townsville tenants, with the vacancy rate falling below 1 per cent on the back of declines for the quarter and for the past 12 months.

The PropTrack Market Insight Report for September showed the rental vacancy rate in the Townsville region was 0.91 per cent.

This was down 0.11 percentage points from three months ago and 0.17 percentage points lower than in September 2022.

PropTrack economist and report author Anne Flaherty said the rental market was even tighter for regional Queensland as a whole.

“In regional Queensland, the vacancy rate dropped 0.06 percentage points month-on-month to sit at 0.89 per cent, while a decrease of 0.24 percentage points was recorded over the past quarter,” she said.

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty. Picture: Supplied

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“Vacancy held relatively steady in Brisbane over the month, rising just 0.02 percentage points to 0.86 per cent.

“Brisbane was one of only four markets that didn’t see vacancy rates fall in September; however, the share of rental properties vacant and available in Brisbane is now 58 per cent lower compared to the start of the pandemic.”

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The other three markets recording increases for September were Perth (up 0.01 percentage points), Darwin (up 0.1 ppt) and regional Victoria (up 0.02 ppt).

Ms Flaherty said nationwide rental conditions deteriorated further in September, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant hitting a new low.

“Vacancy was down in both capital city and regional areas, with renters feeling the squeeze across the country,” she said.

This Queenslander at 4 Piccadilly St, Hyde Park, is for rent for $550 per week. Picture: realestate.com.au

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“Vacancy is now sitting well under 1 per cent in three of Australia’s capital cities.

“More markets are expected to fall below 1 per cent over the coming year as demand continues to grow.”

Ms Flaherty said regional areas in every state had seen vacancy fall by at least 0.2 percentage points over the quarter, with regional South Australia and Queensland seeing the lowest vacancy, at 0.65 per cent and 0.89 per cent respectively.

“Declining vacancy rates are increasing competition for rentals and placing growing pressure on rents,” she said.

“As a result, rents are predicted to continue rising at above trend levels over the coming months, particularly in the capitals.”