On the rental front, the report of Australia’s peak real estate body revealed Darwin as the Australian city with the highest vacancy rate (3 per cent), after vacancies rose 0.9 per cent over the three months to June, followed by Canberra (2 per cent) and Hobart (1.8 per cent).
Outside this trio of markets, the number of available rentals rose to 1.5 per cent in Sydney, 1 per cent in Brisbane and 0.8 per cent in Perth. Adelaide reported the nation’s lowest vacancy rate (0.6 per cent). In defiance of national trends, Melbourne’s vacancy rates dipped to 2.1 per cent.
Even with rental markets loosening over the three months to June, Leanne Pilkington, deputy president of the REIA, explained: “The weighted average median rent for three-bedroom houses in the eight capital cities increased to $553 per week, a quarterly increase of 3.2 per cent but an increase of 9.9 per cent in the past year.”
She said rising rents were driven by high demand, hot competition and an overall lack of competition, with rents for two-bedroom dwellings increasing to $563 nationally, representing a quarterly increase of 3.6 per cent and an annual rise of 18.7 per cent.
The report found yields were stronger for other dwellings than houses, exemplified in Sydney, where a three-bedroom home collects an annual yield of approximately 1.8 per cent, while this figure jumps to 3.8 per cent in two-bedroom other dwellings.
Moving away from the rental market, Ms Pilkington said sales activity maintained strong results even in the face of significant lending and economic headwinds.
“The median house price for the eight capital cities increased to $977,236 over the quarter, but declined 3.4 per cent over the year,” she said.
In Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin, median house prices rose – with the