Rental vacancy rates in Australia reached a record low in May, dipped even lower in September and have now decided to play limbo in hell as of late October/early November. Rent is going up, house prices are aiming for the stars and the word “crisis” is appearing next to the word “housing” more than rain appears over Melbourne. Don’t you just love it here?
Per the Sydney Morning Herald, the number of rentals available in Sydney has dropped by 53 per cent since October 2021. Last month was the fourth consecutive month the rental vacancy rate has dropped, and that’s just Sydney. The other capital cities are facing a similarly grim state of affairs.
In simple terms, this means it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to find a roof to put over their heads.
“There is a rental crisis across the country, and it’s going to get more serious,” Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics Dr Nicola Powell told the SMH.
“If you are on a low income in Australia, you would find it extremely difficult to find an affordable rental right now.”
We reported on the rental vacancy rates hitting an “all-time low” last month, but it looks like things are just going to continue to plummet.
Adelaide has hit the lowest low in the country with a 0.2 per cent rental vacancy rate, followed by Hobart and Perth at 0.3 per cent. This month Melbourne recorded the most available rentals in the country with a vacancy rate of 1.1 per cent. Still disgustingly low (last year it was at 3.1 per cent), but we’ll take what we can get.
Sydney and Canberra followed close to Melbourne with a shared vacancy rate of 1.0 per cent, Darwin’s sits at 0.8 per cent and Brisbane is right in the middle with a rate of 0.7 per cent.
“The cost of living has contributed greatly to the large increase in demand for rentals with more people seeing shared accommodation as a long-term and legitimate way to live,” Flatmates.com.au Community Manager Claudia Conley told PEDESTRIAN.TV last month.
“The limited stock and competitive market are adding extra stress for room-seekers.”
Really the best way to solve this entire crisis (or at least remedy it a little) is to build more affordable and public housing. But hey, that decision isn’t up to me. Time for some action, Mr Albanese.
