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The latest vacancy data from the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) has shown that the state’s residential rental availability remains at “crisis levels”.
Even with a slight easing in some residential markets, the results of REINSW’s Vacancy Rate Survey for March 2025 revealed that residential vacancies in NSW were exceptionally low.
The institute said that rental market conditions remained dire in March, with REINSW CEO, Tim McKibbin, stating that vacancy rates continue to “hover at historically low levels”.
“Month after month, the story remains the same – rental availability is at crisis levels, stock is diminishing, and rents are increasing,” McKibbin said.
While the overall Sydney market’s residential vacancy rate remained stable at 2 per cent for the third consecutive month, McKibbin noted that the rates within various rings of Sydney fluctuated over March.
The number of available properties to rent in Sydney’s inner ring increased by 0.3 per cent over the month and eased the vacancy rate to now be 2.9 per cent, which was the highest across the Sydney markets in March.
Similarly, suburbs in Sydney’s middle ring, such as Auburn, Bankstown, Burwood, Canterbury, Canada Bay, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Manly, Parramatta, Rockdale, Ryde, Strathfield and Willoughby, notched up a 0.1 per cent increase in available properties over March to achieve a vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent.
Nevertheless, available rentals in the capital city’s outer ring, including Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Liverpool, Penrith, Pittwater, Sutherland, Warringah, Wollondilly and Wyong, decreased by 0.2 per cent over the month to a tighter vacancy rate of 1.6 per cent.
Outside Sydney, residential rental vacancies in the Illawarra region reported a slight uptick of 0.4 per cent to 1.3 per cent, marking the area’s highest vacancy rate since the 1.4 per cent recorded in October of last year.
Contrastingly, the number of available properties to rent in the Hunter region dropped 0.1 per cent over the month to now be 1.4 per cent.
In regional NSW, the REINSW’s findings indicated that vacancy rates decreased in many areas over the past month.
“Vacancy rates in the Central Coast, Central West, Coffs Harbour, New England, Northern Rivers, Riverina, South Coast and South East areas all increased slightly over the last month,” McKibbin said.
“The Albury, Murrumbidgee and Orana areas each dropped, while the Mid-North Coast remained stable,” he added.
While McKibbin said that “no one disputes that we are in the midst of a housing crisis”, he emphasised that “little is being done” to address the lack of supply that is underscoring the ongoing rental crisis.
“Supply in the residential market continues to diminish. There is simply not enough housing to cope with demand and this is putting tremendous pressure on the rental market,” he said.
Additionally, McKibbin said the new rental reforms set to take effect in NSW will further deepen the rental vacancy.
“It’s going to drive existing investors out of the market and make it unattractive for new investors,” McKibbin concluded.
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