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Melbourne’s rental market has tightened over October, particularly in the city’s outer suburbs according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV).
The REIV reports the inner city is the easiest place for residents to find a rental property, despite the vacancy rate falling to 2.9 per cent in October, down from 3.1 per cent in September. This is the second consecutive month the rate has fallen – in August it was 4.7 per cent.
The market tightened the most in the outer suburbs, with the vacancy falling from 2.5 per cent in September to just 1.8 per cent.
In suburbs more than 20 kilometres from the CBD the vacancy rate was just 1.2 per cent. Those figures had been low in August, but not as low as they are now.
For Melbourne as a whole, the rental vacancy rate was 2.7 per cent in October, down from 2.9 per cent the previous month, which was the lowest result all year.
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that while that's not good news for renters, it was encouraging for investors buying property to let.
“Investors are increasingly active in the Melbourne housing market and the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data showed a rise in the value of investment housing loans – up by 5.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted in September,” he said.
There was good news for investors, with October's rental market update showing house rents on the rise in inner, middle and outer Melbourne.
The biggest increase was in inner Melbourne, up from a median house rent of $510 a week in September to $521 a week in October. In the middle suburbs the median rose $9 to $379, while in the outer suburbs it was up $5 to $350 a week.
Apartment rents were more stable, with only the inner suburbs recording an increase compared with September, and that was just $2 a week.
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