Regional rentals scarce

THE rental vacancy rate for regional Victoria has been sitting at a record low of 1.2 per cent for six months according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s monthly rental vacancy rate report.
The overall Victorian rate has remained at 2.0 per cent between December 2018 and May 2019.

The vacancy rate refers to the total number of unlet properties that are currently available to rent. A vacancy rate of 3.0 per cent is required for a healthy rental market so it is not surprising that a lack of accessible rental properties is a growing concern in many regions.

The Mildura and Mallee area is home to the lowest rental vacancy rate in regional Victoria at 0.7 per cent, followed by the Wimmera at 0.9 per cent and East Gippsland and Wellington at 1.0 per cent.

Ballarat and Central Highlands have a rental vacancy rate of 1.1 per cent, Latrobe Valley, South and West Gippsland and Bendigo and Loddon all have a rate of 1.3 per cent. The Wodonga and Ovens Murray, and Warrnambool and Western District have rates of 1.4 per cent. In Geelong and Barwon it’s 1.6 per cent, while Shepparton and Goulburn have a rate of 1.7 per cent.

Findings in the Department of Health and Human Services Rental Report support concerns around low vacancy rates, revealing that the number of new rental lettings in Victoria decreased by 14.2 per cent in the quarter to 31 March. Lending to residential property investors in Victoria was $5.548 billion in the March quarter, 24.8 per cent lower than in the March quarter last year.

The DHHS report also found that the proportion of affordable rental lettings in regional Victoria decreased to 44.8 per cent in the March quarter, compared with 47.1 per cent in the December quarter 2018 and 51.3 per cent in the March quarter 2018.

To find out the rental vacancy rate in your area, go to reiv.com.au/market-insights.