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Rental property vacancies remain very tight in Sydney, according to the NSW Real Estate Institute (REINSW).
The REINSW president Steve Martin said Sydney had not experienced an increase in the rental vacancy rate since July 2009.
"In Sydney last month the available rental vacancy rate remained at 1.3 per cent, which means the market remains very tight," Mr Martin said.
“Sydney’s middle suburbs fared better with a 0.1 per cent increase to 1.5 per cent for the month of October, whilst inner suburbs recorded a 0.1 per cent decrease to 1.3 per cent. There was no change in the rental vacancy rate for outer suburbs, which remained at 1.0 per cent.
“The news was slightly better in Wollongong with the city recording a good increase in available properties for the month. Wollongong recorded a 0.2 per cent increase to 1.8 per cent, which is the highest result recorded since April 2009.
“Newcastle remained unchanged at 1.6 per cent."
Mr Martin said investment in rental properties had improved over the later part of this year with lower interest rates and good rental income enticing investors into the market.
Unfortunately, this combined with the move of first home buyers out of rental accommodation has not enabled rental supply to match demand.
“As these stimulus factors weaken, and with no sign of demand abating, things will only continue to be difficult for renters over the foreseeable future,” he said.
“The government needs to urgently encourage and incentivize better use of land particularly in the 5 – 10 kilometre radius from Sydney.
“We need a strategic approach in NSW to solve this problem in order to avoid a worse situation in 2010.”
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