FINDING a rental home in Sunraysia could be even harder this year, as vacancy rates drop dramatically and rents soar.
According to property insight and analysis company Propertyology, vacancy rates in the Mildura LGA have decreased by more than half over the past 12 months, dropping from 1.1 per cent to 0.5, meaning less than 0.5 per cent of properties are available to rent.
For just Mildura itself, the vacancy rate decreased from 1 per cent to 0.5 per cent, but in Irymple there was a greater decline, as the rate dropped from 2.3 per cent to 0.4.
Mildura’s vacancy rate is well below regional Victoria’s, which sits at 1.3 per cent.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia said a healthy benchmark for vacancy rates was 3 per cent, and Propertyology said anything below 2 per cent pointed to extremely tight conditions.
The region has been well under this amount for sometime, leaving many struggling to find a home.
John Fumberger, principal and senior sales consultant of Mildura and District Real Estate, which is located in Merbein, said renting was close to impossible in the small town.
“We just can’t get enough rental properties,” he said.
“(Values) have gone up another level as well.”
As of Monday, there was only one property available to rent in Merbein on realestate.com.au.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit was available for $300 a week.
Mr Fumberger said the town’s vacancy rate, which was not available in CoreLogic’s data due to insufficient numbers, felt like 0 per cent.
“It’s a bit scarce, vacancy rates are like zero (per cent) as soon as properties go up they are snapped up quickly,” he said.
“That is something that investors might want to consider out this way.”
Propertyology said strong demand in the rental market was lowering vacancy rates, while rising weekly rents.
The increase in rental values could also be attributed to rising interest rates.
The Mildura LGA recorded an annual value increase of 9.9 per cent, with Mildura city recording a 9.7 per cent increase, Irymple a 10 per cent increase, Red Cliffs a 10.8 per cent increase and Merbein a 13.3 per cent increase.
Across the river, Buronga’s rental values increased 10.6 per cent and Gol Gol’s 10.3 per cent.
Propertyology said with demand expected to remain strong, it was unlikely renters would see a reprieve over the coming months.
“These rental market conditions mean rent prices will continue to grow strongly throughout 2023,” the property insight company said.
“The financial pressures renters across the country are already feeling will be exacerbated over the remainder of 2023.”
The current median weekly rental value in the Mildura municipality is $398, and $401 in the Wentworth Shire.
Gol Gol has the highest median rental value at $459, just ahead of Irymple at $456.
The lowest median rental value was recorded in Merbein at $367 a week.
Despite Wentworth maintaining its high-value growth, the vacancy rate for the municipality increased, unlike Mildura’s.
The rate soared from the 1.4 per cent recorded in February last year to 2.3 per cent, indicating that it may be easier to find a rental over the NSW side of the river.
For Gol Gol alone there were nine properties available to rent on Monday on realestate.com.au.
However, the average weekly rent for the properties was $437.22.
In Buronga there were two properties available, with the average rent at $370 a week.
