The April REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate Survey reveals a 0.4 per cent decrease in vacancies across Sydney, from 3.6 per cent on 15 March, to 3.2 per cent on 15 April. Other key NSW reporting areas such as the Illawarra region saw a 0.4 per cent increase in vacancy rate, while the Hunter region remained steady at 1.7 per cent for the third month in a row.
The REINSW Residential Vacancy Rate Survey 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 April survey is based on survey responses covering 128,134 residential rental properties.
Sydney data
Overall, Sydney experienced a 3.2 per cent vacancy rate in April, compared with 3.6 per cent in March. Inner Sydney and Outer Sydney both saw a decreases of 0.5 and 0.2 per cent, respectively, while Middle Sydney saw a modest increase of 0.2 per cent to 3.3 per cent, growing from 3.1 per cent in March.rep
The Hunter region
Overall vacancy rates in the Hunter region remained steady. However, Newcastle saw a substantial fall in vacancies of 0.7 per cent, after three months at over 2.0 per cent. Vacancy rates in other areas in the region increased 0.3 per cent from March, to 1.8 per cent this month.
The Illawarra region
The Illawarra region experienced a 0.4 per cent increase in rental vacancies, from 2.2 per cent on 15 March, to 2.6 per cent on 15 April. Wollongong remained steady at 2.7 per cent. However other areas in the region saw an increase of 0.7 per cent between March and April.
Other regional NSW areas
The rest of NSW saw steep increases in three key areas: Albury (up 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent); Coffs Harbour (up 1.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent) and the South Coast (up 1.1 per cent to 3.7 per cent). While most other areas remained steady, Riverina saw a 0.6 per cent decrease, from 2.6 per cent in March to 2.0 per cent in April.
Year-on-year
Year-on-year, Sydney has seen a 1.1 per cent increase in vacancies, while the Hunter and Illawarra regions both remained steady.
