Sydney’s rental availability has increased as we head into 2020

21 January 2020

Vacancy rates increased in Sydney during the month of December, rising 0.2% to 3.4%. This is particularly evident in Sydney’s Inner Ring where rates increased from 2.4% to 3.4% suggesting tenants are experiencing a rise in availability across the metropolitan areas. In the Middle and Outer Rings rates dropped suggesting these areas are proving more popular with tenants.

Outside Sydney, vacancy rates rose in the outer area of the Hunter and Illawarra regions though there was a tiny decrease in Newcastle of 0.1%. Wollongong saw the largest decrease in vacancies down 1.7% from 4.3% in November to 2.6%.

“The increase in vacancies in Inner Sydney shows tenants now have a lot more choice in many Metropolitan areas,” said REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin.

“The outer regions overall have seen an increase in vacancies whereas Newcastle and the Wollongong has seen a decline for the month.”

“Due to the devastating bushfires we are expecting to see fluctuations in the regional areas in particular in the Illawarra and South Coast areas.”

Sydney data

Total vacancies across Sydney are now sitting at 3.4%, an increase of 0.2% since November. Rates have been steadily sitting above 3% so it looks like this trend is here to stay for now that large amounts of new units continue to enter the market. Vacancy rates in Inner Sydney jumped up 1% whereas vacancies in Middle and Outer Sydney have continued to drop 2-3%.

Elizabeth Bay, Cremorne, Edmondson Park and North Turramurra have returned some of the highest vacancy rates, all in excess of 7.75%.

The most popular suburbs are Moore Park, Coogee, Erskineville, Mona Vale, Engadine and Smithfield where vacancies are well under 2%.

The Hunter

Vacancies in the Hunter region increased 0.3% for the month of December, from 1.6% to 1.9%. Newcastle, however experienced a decrease from 2.6% to 2.5%.

The Illawarra

Vacancies in the Illawarra dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 2.7% overall. Though most outer regions in the Illawarra experienced an increase from 1.5% to 2.9%, Wollongong saw a large drop of 1.7% in vacancies settling at 2.6% to round out 2019.

The other regions

Overall other regions reported an increase in vacancy rates in December with the exception of Albury and the Mid-North Coast which reported small decreases. The Central Coast saw the highest increase in rates jumping 1.6 percentage points from 3.5% in November up to 5.1%. The South Coast also saw a rise in vacancies up from 2.4% to 3.4%. Orana remained steady at 1.8% for the third month in a row.

Residential vacancy rate percentage

The REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate Report is based on the proportion of unlet residential dwellings to the total rent roll of REINSW member agents on the 15th of each month. Carried out monthly, the research – a survey of REINSW member agents conducted by Survey Matters – collects the total properties on agency rent rolls, the number of properties that were vacant on the 15th of the month, and the postcode in which a majority of agents’ rental properties are located. The suburb-level rates reported by agents are weighted based on ABS Census 2016 Dwelling Characteristics. The December report is based on survey responses covering 101,501 residential rental properties.

 

Dec-19

Nov-19

Oct-19

Sep-19

Aug19

Jul-19

Jul-19

Jun-19

May19

Apr-19

Mar-19

Feb-19

SYDNEY

                       

Inner

3.4%

 2.4%

2.7%

3.1%

3.4%

3.0%

3.0%

3.4%

3.1%

3.2%

3.7%

2.9%

Middle

3.4%

3.7%

4.2%

3.0%

3.9%

4.1%

4.1%

3.4%

3.3%

3.3%

3.1%

3.6%

Outer

3.4%

3.6%

3.9%

2.7%

3.5%

3.4%

3.4%

3.5%

3.6%

3.3%

3.5%

3.1%

Total

3.4%

3.2%

 3.6%

2.9%

3.6%

3.5%

3.5%

3.4%

3.4%

3.2%

3.6%

3.2%

HUNTER

                       

Newcastle

2.5%

2.6%

2.5%

1.2%

1.5%

1.6%

1.6%

1.8%

1.7%

1.4%

2.1%

2.1%

Other

1.7%

1.1%

1.4%

1.0%

1.4%

1.8%

1.8%

1.6%

1.9%

1.8%

1.5%

1.6%

Total

1.9%

 1.6%

 1.8%

1.0%

1.4%

1.7%

1.7%

1.7%

1.8%

1.7%

1.7%

1.7%

ILLAWARRA

                       

Wollongong

2.6%

4.3%

2.5%

2.8%

2.4%

1.6%

1.6%

2.1%

3.3%

2.7%

2.7%

2.8%

Other

2.9%

1.5%

2.1%

1.5%

2.3%

3.3%

3.3%

2.6%

2.9%

2.1%

1.4%

1.9%

Total

2.7%

2.9%

 2.4%

2.2%

2.3%

2.2%

2.2%

2.3%

3.1%

2.6%

2.2%

2.4%

 

To download the Media Release Click Here

To view the December Survey Results Click Here

For more information, please contact:
Jessica Husband | + 61 2 8267 0537 | [email protected]


About REINSW

The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) is the peak industry body for real estate agents and property professionals in NSW. It represents more than 2000 agencies across residential sales, property management, commercial, strata management, buyers’ agency, agency services and auctioneering. Established in 1910, REINSW works to improve the standards, professionalism and expertise of its members to continually evolve and innovate the industry. It lobbies the government and industry on behalf of members, develops new products and services to benefit agencies and professionals, and offers training and ongoing professional development. For more information, visit reinsw.com.au.