Sydney rental vacancies rose by 0.2% from 3.2% in April to 3.4% in May, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) residential vacancy rate report.
Other key NSW reporting areas such as the Illawarra region posted a 0.5% increase in the vacancy rate to 3.1%. The Hunter region’s vacancy rate, meanwhile, climbed by 0.1% to 1.7% after three months.
Data also showed that 75% of the rest of NSW remained steady. The Riverina posted the largest increase in vacancies from 2% in April to 3% in May. The South Eastern region, on the other hand, slid by 2.1% to 0.9% due to seasonal fluctuations.
“More properties are becoming available, partly driven by additional stock coming to the market and new developments,” REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said.
What are the results for particular areas?
Inner Sydney slightly dropped by 0.1%, from 3.2% in April to 3.1% in May. Outer Sydney experienced an increase of 0.3% to 3.6%, making it the highest vacancy rate across Sydney now. Middle Sydney remained steady at 3.3% for the second month in a row.
In the Hunter region, Newcastle’s vacancies rose by 0.3% to 1.7% after a significant fall of 0.7% between March and April. Vacancy rates in other areas in the region increased by 0.1% in April to 1.9% in June.
Wollongong and other areas in the Illawarra region registered sharp increases of 0.6% to 3.3% and 0.8% to 2.9%, respectively, between April and May.
Year-over-year, Sydney logged a 1% increase in vacancies from 2.4% to 3.4%. Vacancies in the Illawarra region grew by 0.7% to 3.1%, while the Hunter remained steady, with an increase of only 0.2% to 1.8%.
