FINDING an available rental in north-west Victoria still remains a hard task for newcomers, despite an increase in the the vacancy rate.
Just 0.79 per cent of homes were vacant in the past three months, an improvement of 0.21 percentage points, according to REA Group.
North-west Victoria remained below the regional Victoria vacancy rate of 1.12 per cent – which increased by 0.01 percentage points.
Melbourne’s vacancy rate reached a record low of just 1.15 per cent.
REA Group economist Anne Flaherty said rental availability “deteriorated” further in January, with the national vacancy rate falling to 1.09 per cent.
House-hunters across Australia’s capital cities stood to benefit from the sharpest drop in vacancy, while conditions eased slightly across most regional areas.
“The share of rental properties sitting vacant has been trending down for three years, from 3 per cent in April 2020 to just 1.09 per cent in January,” Ms Flaherty said.
“There are now 54 per cent fewer homes sitting vacant compared to the onset of the pandemic.
“With few rental properties currently vacant, tenants are facing stiff competition.
“This is likely to drive rents higher over the course of 2024, though we expect the pace of growth to slow.”
Ray White Swan Hill selling principal Cameron Smits recently told The Guardian there were between 25 and 30 applications per available rental property.
Mr Smits said the only thing that could be done to help alleviate the rental stress in Swan Hill was to build more houses.
“We are aware of a number of investments that will be built and become available,” he said.
“Being new, and the rising cost of building, it’s expected that these will start around $600 per week each.”
Mr Smits said Swan Hill’s vacancy rate had sat under 3 per cent for as long as he had been in the real estate industry.
“Supply and demand has continued to put strain on that number and now see it sitting at record lows.”
LJ Hooker Swan Hill also reported low rental property stocks.
“Every property we advertise for rent in Swan Hill attracts several dozen enquiries and at least 10 applications, so the unsatisfied demand is quite substantial,” principal John Monahan said.
“We have a number of high-quality tenants looking for accommodation at present so the market momentum is with the property owners.”
