Sydney rental market remains tight
Rental accommodation in Sydney continues to be in short supply, despite a slight rise in vacancy rates over January.
The most recent data shows the vacancy rate rose by 0.1 per cent in the first month of the year, to an overall rate of 1.9 per cent.
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Nonetheless, REINSW deputy president John Cunningham said the market for rental accommodation was tight.
“Sydney has not seen significant rises in recent months and there is a great deal of pressure on the residential property market,” he said.
The middle suburbs of Sydney saw the biggest rise, from 1.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
“This rate was last seen just over 12 months ago in December 2012,” Mr Cunningham said.
In outer Sydney, rates also rose by a small margin to 1.7 per cent while the inner suburbs saw availability remain stable at 1.8 per cent.
Mr Cunningham said investment in Sydney should be encouraged to address the shortage of rentals.
“We must make property more attractive to investors with the appropriate invectives, especially during a time of low interest rates and a volatile share market,” he said.
The regional market showed mixed results.
Vacancies in the Hunter fell to 3.1 per cent, though Newcastle reported a slightly tighter market at 2.7 per cent.
Wollongong saw a 0.3 per cent decrease to 1.8 per cent, one of the lowest rates for a regional centre.
The south eastern region has the highest availability in the state at 4.8 per cent.
