Townsville tenants have more choice in the rental market compared to a year ago.
The Townsville rental market has eased slightly with listing numbers up and the vacancy rate increasing even as prices climb, new data has shown.
The latest PropTrack Rental Report shows new Townsville rental listings on realestate.com.au increased 1.4 per cent between June 2023 and June 2024.
In the same time, total rental listings for Townsville were up 2.2 per cent year-on-year, while the vacancy rate increased from 1.15 per cent to 1.36 per cent.
In the 12 months to June, the average time it took a Townsville rental to be snapped up lifted from 19 days to 20 days, but enquiries per listing soared 26.2 per cent.
The PropTrack data found that while renters had more choice compared to a year ago they were paying more for rentals.
The median rent in North Queensland’s capital was up 4.3 per cent in the June quarter and 14 per cent in the past 12 months to sit at $490 per week.
Cameron Kusher, the PropTrack director economic research. Picture: Supplied
PropTrack director economic research and report author, Cameron Kusher said rental supply in regional Queensland tightened in June, with new and total listings on realestate.com.au declining over the year by 13.7 per cent and 10.1 per cent, respectively.
“Lower rental stock saw more competition for properties, as regional Queensland had a 16.6 per cent annual increase in average enquiries per listing to 22.51, and the median time on site dropped to 19 days in June 2024, compared to 20 days a year earlier,” he said.
“Median advertised rents sat at $620 for both Brisbane and regional Queensland in June, marking a quarterly rise of 3.3 per cent in Brisbane and 4.2 per cent in regional Queensland.”
The PropTrack report showed new Brisbane rental listings fell 5.3 per cent across the year to June, which was the second-smallest drop in new listings across capital city markets.
“Despite this, total rental stock increased in Brisbane year-on-year by 2.4 per cent, however sat 30.1 per cent below the decade average to June 2022,” Mr Kusher said.
“Demand for rental properties appeared to ease as the median time a property spent advertised on realestate.com.au increased to 20 days in June up from 18 days a year prior, and average enquiries per listing dropped 11.7 per cent year-on-year to 27.39.
“Brisbane’s rental vacancy rate rose by 0.19 percentage points in the June quarter to 1.2 per cent, making it the third-tightest rental market in the country.”
The home at 250 Hugh Street, Gulliver, is newly for rent for $380 per week. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Kusher, said as rental price growth in Australia had slowed over the past year, the national 9.1 per cent increase since June 2023 remained substantial and significantly exceeded both the rate of inflation and household income growth.
“Weakening rental growth likely reflects the trade-offs that renters are making due to the heightened cost of rent and living,” he said.
“Some of these trade-offs may include renting smaller properties, renting in less desirable locations where rental costs are cheaper or sharing rental accommodation with other tenants.
“Increased lending activity to first home buyers has seen renters with the means exiting the market to purchase, while increased lending to investors will also likely alleviate some rental pressures.”
Mr Kusher said despite this, the supply of homes available for renters still consistently trailed the demand for rentals.
“This imbalance is being persistently exacerbated by limited new housing construction and a heightened number of investors exiting the market in recent years, with the rebound in investor purchasing only being witnessed over the past year,” he said.
“While rental growth is expected to slow, we anticipate that it will continue to outpace the rate of inflation, with rental prices unlikely to stabilise in the short or medium term.”
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