Following a period of increased rental supply from early to mid-2024, available rentals are once again on a decline.
Securing a rental home is challenging nationwide but renters in certain regions face even greater difficulties with supply reducing significantly compared to a year ago.
According to PropTrack's new market insight, national vacancy rates fell by 0.06 percentage points in September to 1.34%. This marked the third consecutive monthly fall and the further tightening of rental supply.
Vacancies have declined by 0.10 percentage points over the past quarter and 0.06 percentage points over the month.
The recent trend is unwelcome news for renters who have experienced little relief from the challenging market.
While vacancy rates are 0.13 percentage points higher than they were a year ago in September 2023, some regions have seen conditions tighten considerably.
Looking at the SA3 regions with the largest annual decreases in vacancy rates shows the areas most impacted by reduced rental supply.
Regions with the largest declines in vacancy rates
| Region (SA3) | State | Current vacancy rate | Annual change |
| Noosa | QLD | 1.24% | -2.37ppt |
| Darwin Suburbs | NT | 0.65% | -1.45ppt |
| East Pilbara | WA | 4.79% | -1.39ppt |
| Hobart Inner | TAS | 0.83% | -1.25ppt |
| Outback - North | QLD | 2.11% | -1.1ppt |
| Armidale | NSW | 1.98% | -0.99ppt |
| Southern Highlands | NSW | 1.74% | -0.94ppt |
| Clarence Valley | NSW | 0.69% | -0.88ppt |
| Gippsland - South West | VIC | 1.38% | -0.76ppt |
| Bendigo | VIC | 1.09% | -0.75ppt |
The number of available rentals declined the most in the Darwin Suburbs and Noosa regions. Vacancies are currently around one-third of what they were in October 2023.
Rental vacancies also fell substantially in the East Pilbara and Hobart Inner regions. Only 4.79% of properties are vacant in East Pilbara, while just 0.83% of properties remain vacant in Inner Hobart.
Outback - North and Armidale regions experienced a large decline in rental supply as well.
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Among the locations with the largest falls, the majority are in regional areas.
This is unsurprising given that these areas have lower vacancy rates and have seen larger falls in the number of vacant properties compared to capital cities.
Only 1.12% of properties in regional areas and 1.43% of properties in our cities are currently available for rent, following respective declines in their vacancy rates of 0.21 percentage points and 0.05 percentage points over the quarter.
We expect the rental market to remain tight in the foreseeable future due to a lack of meaningful supply growth and high levels of demand. The gap between capital cities and regional markets may widen further if conditions continue to deteriorate in regional areas.
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