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A third consecutive month of tightening vacancy rates across the NSW capital has prompted the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) to declare that new market dynamics are now at play across the city.
“While there was a steady exodus of people from Sydney for much of last year, the tide has certainly turned over recent months,” REINSW chief executive Tim McKibbin said.
Decreasing by 0.4 per cent for the month, the vacancy rate for Sydney overall now sits at 2.1 per cent.
“This drop is attributable to fewer vacancies in Sydney’s inner and middle rings, which now have rates of 2.8 per cent (-0.6 per cent) and 2.4 per cent (-0.5 per cent) respectively,” Mr McKibbin explained.
“The outer ring remained stable at 1.5 per cent,” he added.
Outside of Sydney, rental vacancy rates remained extremely low, though some regional areas recorded minor rises.
Newcastle saw a slight fluctuation, with available properties tracking 0.1 per cent higher over February, ending the month at 1.9 per cent.
Rates also rose in Albury, the Central West, Coffs Harbour, the Mid North Coast, the Northern Rivers, Orana and the South Coast.
Meanwhile, Murrumbidgee, New England and Riverina areas all recorded drops.
While Sydney looks set on its current trajectory, Mr McKibbin noted that a number of uncertain factors would dictate how rental markets outside of the capital operate in the months ahead.
Commenting that January's had brought signs of a return to normality in some of the state's rental markets, Mr McKibbin said that recent events had upended that momentum, particularly in northern NSW.
"Unpredictability may be set to return as we wait to see what impact the floods have on the market. While the full impact is yet to be assessed, we know that many tenants have been displaced across New South Wales and this will inevitably affect vacancy rates in the coming weeks,” Mr McKibbin explained.
He emphasised the work that real estate professionals were doing to secure housing for flood effected communities, and noted how their jobs had changed almost overnight.
“As a consequence of the floods, both sales agents and property managers across the state are having new conversations with their customers that they’ve never had before.
“For instance, some renters have found themselves in uninhabitable properties and in some cases, with nowhere else to go, they don’t want to leave. It introduces new
challenges for property managers in speaking to their customers about the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords in these unique circumstances."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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