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For the first time in several months the national vacancy rate has increased, new research has found.
Figures released this week by SQM Research reveal that the level of residential vacancies rose during the month of November, increasing by 0.1 per cent on a national level and coming to a total of 54,067.
This is the first time in several months that we have seen a rise in vacancies, coming out of an extended period of modest declines and stagnation during October.
“The rise in vacancy rates this month is the result of a seasonal effect which occurs normally at this time of year,” Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research said.
“We expect December to also record a risel, due to seasonality.”
Year-on-year, SQM Research has also recorded a modest rise in vacancies – 0.1 per cent nationally, when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Melbourne has been pushed up beyond three per cent during the month of November, with three per cent being the figure that SQM Research believes to be the equilibrium when referring to residential vacancy rates.
Recording a vacancy rate of 3.2 per cent, this capital city has experienced a marked monthly increase of 0.4 per cent, coming to a total of 13,411.
Darwin has also experienced a substantial monthly increase in vacancies, climbing 0.4 per cent during the month of November and coming to a total of 1.1 per cent. Although these increases may be perceived as largely seasonal, this could spell some relief for Darwin, which has been recording a vacancy rate of less than one per cent for quite some time now.
SQM’s calculations of vacancies are based on online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties.
SQM considers this to be a superior methodology, compared to using a potentially incomplete sample of agency surveys or merely relying on raw online listings advertised.
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