HIgh Vacancy Rates In Perth Rental Market
New data on Perth Real Estate Rentals from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia show that while the vacancy rate in Perth dropped slightly from 4.7 per cent in the December quarter to 4.1 per cent in March, the overall rental median is static at $370 per week.
REIWA President Alan Bourke said the slightly lower Perth Rental Real Estate vacancy rate was due to diminished stock and not to increased demand by tenants.
“What we are witnessing is that many investors who found it hard to sell in the last couple of years put their properties into the rental system to ride out the downturn.
“Now that things have improved, some owners are listing these dwellings for sale which accounts for the increased stock for sale and the lower vacancy rate,” Mr Bourke said.
Mr Bourke said this dynamic also helped to explain why rents were stable.
“Currently, there are no pressures that will increase demand and so cause Perth Real Estate rentals to increase dramatically, and typical rents in Perth have only increased by around $10 per week since the December quarter of 2008,” Mr Bourke said.
REIWA data show that the median rent for a house in Perth is $380 per week, up by a modest $5 on the December quarter, while the median rent for units, apartments, villas and townhouses was steady at $350 per week.
Despite no movement in Perth’s overall median rent, some sub-regions did experience rises and falls.
REIWA rental property data indicates rents grew by 6 per cent in the Bayswater-Bassendean region, to $350 per week, and also grew by 5.7 per cent in the north west region of Wanneroo ($370).
Conversely, rents fell by around 3 per cent in Gosnells ($330), and the Western Suburbs ($440).
Mr Bourke suggested a vacancy rate of 3 per cent for Perth Real Estate and would provide the ideal equilibrium between supply and demand.
“The current vacancy rate is therefore about 36 per cent higher than Perth’s long term average, but this can change quickly if jobs pick up strongly on the back of a resurgent resources sector,” Mr Bourke said.
In March 2007 the Perth vacancy rate plunged to just 0.8 per cent.
For more information on Perth Real Estate please visit http://www.reiwa.com.au - The Real Estate Instutitue of Western Australia.
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