INCREASING vacancy rates in Victoria have provided marginal but “much-needed” relief for renters, including those in Sunraysia.
According to property analysis company PropTrack, vacancy rates across Victoria increased during June, with regional Victoria up by 0.03 per cent.
For North West Victoria, the rate increased even more, up by 0.09 per cent.
Melbourne recorded an increase of 0.06 per cent.
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said Australia’s rental market had shown its most significant signs of easing rental market conditions since November 2020, early in the pandemic.
“The rental market eased further in June, providing some much-needed relief for renters,” Mr Ryan said.
“Capital cities are seeing more promising rental market conditions, with vacancy rates up 0.17 percentage points over the past three months.”
North West Victoria’s current vacancy rate is still a low 0.61 per cent, and despite last month’s increase, the rate is still 0.03 per cent lower than where it was a year ago.
Regional Victoria as a whole, however, recorded a positive annual change of 0.19 per cent.
PropTrack said conditions remained “extremely tight” for renters, with many vacancy rates across the country still below pre-pandemic figures.
It said Melbourne’s vacancy rate remained down by 0.84 per cent annually and down almost half on pre-pandemic levels.
Regional Victoria’s rate is 20 per cent lower than it was pre-pandemic.
“Slowing rental demand has resulted in more rental properties being available for lease,” Mr Ryan said.
“But despite the improvements, rental vacancy rates remain low – around half the levels seen before the pandemic – and demand is easing but still strong.
“It remains difficult to find a rental across the country and we expect rents to continue to grow quickly, placing additional financial pressure on renters.”
