Login
iscover
A record low level of available rental properties saw total listings for December 2023 sitting 30 per cent below the decade average on one of the nation’s biggest property portals.
The latest data on rental activity on realestate.com.au, just released by PropTrack, puts a sombre cap on the year that was defined by decreasing stock and rising prices. Total listings in December 2023 were also 4.7 per cent lower than in December 2022.
New listings took a similar path, with the number of properties first advertised during the month dropping 4.6 per cent from December 2022, and 20.7 per cent lower than the 10-year average for the month.
According to the property analytics firm, December’s numbers cement that rental availability has reached “historic” low levels.
And prices have responded accordingly – the median advertised rent on realestate.com.au rose 11.5 per cent over the year to sit at $580 per week in 2023, a substantial jump, even if it was lower than the 15.6 per cent increase witnessed in 2022.
While noting that prices will be hitting an affordability ceiling, the firm reported that demand driving the price rises does not appear to be abating, with the number of enquiries per rental listing on realestate.com.au remaining high, having climbed 3.3 per cent over the year.
Cameron Kusher, PropTrack’s director of economic research and author of the report, noted that with demand expected to remain elevated, the pressure on renters is expected to ease, even if price growth falls back to less aggressive levels.
“While we expect rents to continue to rise this year, it’s likely that the rate of growth will slow. The already higher cost of renting and overall increase in the cost of living will limit rent price increases moving forward,” Mr Kusher said.
He added that low stock and price rises in the sales market, coupled with high interest rates, will also stymie the flow of renters to home owners in the year ahead.
“For renters hoping to purchase a property, higher rents are making it difficult to save a deposit, while higher interest rates will make servicing a mortgage more expensive.”
A surge of new rental listings is also not on the horizon, with investor activity far below what is needed to alleviate low listings.
“Nationally, investors are still exiting the market. There has been a rebound in new investor lending this year, but it is not enough to sufficiently improve stock levels.
Mr Kusher stressed the need for home building to ramp up dramatically this year to address the rental issues plaguing the nation.
“With total rental listing volumes at historic lows and well below their decade average, rental conditions are likely to remain challenged. There is a critical need for additional housing, particularly in the major capital cities. Serious consideration needs to be given to the financing of these projects and the capacity to build the volume of housing we need.”
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.
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.