While the Perth sales market made a miraculous recovery in the last quarter of 2013, figures from the REIWA suggest the rental market didn’t weather so well.
According to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), the metropolitan vacancy rate grew further, to around 3.2 per cent, as more than 700 additional rentals came onto the market.
The result is 135 per cent higher than results from the year before in 2012, with more than 4,800 rental properties currently available for lease through REIWA agents.
President of the REIWA David Airey said rents reflected the subdued vacancy environment.
“In response to the competition, the Perth median rent came down by $10 to $460 per week and represented a drop of $15 per week since the middle of last year.
“It seems the downturn of jobs in the mining sector as well as many former tenants having now become first home owners has caused the rental system to relax a little,” Mr Airey said.