Rental vacancies fall by a staggering 34.2%

The rental market has turned decisively in favour of property investors, with the number of vacant rental properties plummeting by one-third over a 12-month period.

Between January of 2022 and 2023, the number of rental vacancies across Australia fell from 47,977 to 31,592, a reduction of 34.2%, according to SQM Research.

At the same time, the vacancy rate – which measures the share of untenanted rental properties – fell from an already-low 1.6% to just 1.0%.

Vacancy rates differ from city to city, but are low throughout the country, ranging from 0.4% in Perth to 1.6% in Canberra.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said low vacancy rates were contributing to a “surge in rents”, which in turn was pushing up rental yields.

“I believe would-be investors will be attracted to higher rental yields in later 2023, provided the cash rate peaks at below 4% [it's currently 3.35%],” he said.