From the REIV CEO, August 13

More homes need to be offered up for rent to help ease the growing rental squeeze in regional Victoria.

The REIV’s vacancy rate data for June has revealed vacant rental properties shrinking to 1.8 per cent in regional Victoria, which contrasted with vacancy rates in Melbourne climbing to 3.0 per cent.
Rental prices in regional Victoria are holding firm, with median house rents remaining unchanged on $350 per week for the past six consecutive months.
Regional units are sitting at $300 per week, a $5 increase on the previous month of May.
In Geelong, house rental prices grew by $10 to $400 per week, while renting in Ballarat and Bendigo regions is more affordable, with median rents in Ballarat now on $330 per week and Bendigo on $320 per week.
The steady rental prices could be primarily attributed to property owners moving away from short term rentals such as Airbnb.
A fall in visitors and a drop in temporary overseas workers has meant that more landlords are returning to the traditional rental market.
While the availability for long-term housing in Victoria continues to grow, more rental homes are urgently needed to help keep up with the growing demand.
Having lower rental vacancy rates throughout June means there are less homes available for people to rent, and there has never been a more important time to have a roof over your head.
Regional property managers are inundated with rental enquiries daily, and we need more rental stock to help meet our communities constantly growing housing needs.
This rental data, combined with the annual growth shown in the June Quarterly Medians, demonstrates the strength and resilience of the Victorian property market.
Victoria’s rental market is holding firm in the face of the coronavirus pandemic creating unique conditions.
As always, if a buyer or a seller is looking for objective information on the market or an agency, they should head to reiv.com.au.