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New data from the institute highlighting the extent of the state’s continued rental crisis is not pretty reading.
State capital Sydney watched as its vacancy rate plunged 0.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent, the lowest level recorded in the country’s most populous city in nearly a decade. Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) chief executive officer Tim McKibbin stated: “The drop is attributable to vacancies in the inner, middle, and outer rings, each dropping by 0.1 per cent to 2.1 per cent, 1.1 per cent, and 1.5 per cent, respectively.”
After August offered renters some hope that vacancy rates were beginning to level out, September’s tightening means they reached levels not reported since November 2013.
Mr McKibbin specified that it was not just the state capital feeling the rental pinch, with other regions across the state also presenting a real challenge for tenants searching for a home.
“Vacancy rates in the Hunter region and Wollongong remain stable at 1.4 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively, and regional areas across the state continue to be extremely tight,” he said.
The state’s central west possesses the toughest market for renters, with a vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent having fallen by over 100 per cent since June — when it sat at 1.3 per cent, closely followed by border town Albury, where 0.7 per cent of rental properties remain unoccupied, down from 1.2 per cent in July.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the state’s Northern Rivers region boasts the largest vacancy rate, at 5.3 per cent, which has soared from the 4.1 per cent recorded in August.
Mr McKibbin believes “these latest results show that there’s no denying that a rental crisis continues to grip New South Wales”.
“Cost-of-living pressures continue to mount for tenants and landlords alike, and recent interest rate hikes will undoubtedly put pressure on some landlords to increase rents,” he said.
In his estimation, it is undoubtable that “many tenants would embrace the opportunity to secure a more affordable rental property”; however, he caveats this by stating that “despite rent increases, they’re [tenants] choosing to stay put because they’re just not confident that they’ll be able to secure another property”.
Despite new initiatives by the Perrottet government to boost housing supply — which includes a $300 million plan to unlock thousands of developments across 41 council constituencies — he explained how “there is simply not enough housing to cope with demand and this is putting tremendous pressure on the rental market”.
As for when the current crisis will cease, Mr McKibbin concluded that it’s difficult to see it occurring “anytime soon”.
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