Struggling to find a tenant? Spare a thought for the landlords in these suburbs, where residential vacancy rates are reported to be as high as 41%.

Your Investment Property has delved into the data to reveal the 10 suburbs in Australia with the highest vacancy rates, according to January’s DSR score data. 

State

Locality

Type

Vacancy

SA

PORT ELLIOT

H

41.00%

VIC

DOREEN

H

30.40%

VIC

MERNDA

H

30.40%

SA

MURRAY BRIDGE

H

29.40%

SA

MIDDLETON

H

25.30%

VIC

WYNDHAM VALE

H

15.70%

NSW

LIBERTY GROVE

U

14.89%

VIC

HOPPERS CROSSING

U

14.40%

VIC TRUGANINA H

 14.40%

VIC TARNEIT

H

 14.40%

Source: www.DSRscore.com.au

Houses in the South Australian seaside town of Port Elliot top the list with an astonishing vacancy rate of 41%. However, a closer look at the town’s rental listings reveals a large proportion of holiday lets, which will have contributed to the area’s sky high vacancy rate.

Doreen and Mernda, which are neighbouring suburbs in Victoria, take the second and third spots. Both have a vacancy rate for houses of 30.4%, despite only being around 30km north-east of Melbourne. A scan of the rental listings in this area reveals a large number of new homes for rent, which suggests residents have yet to fill up the area’s newest estates.

The South Australian communities of Murray Bridge and Middleton take fourth and fifth spots, giving South Australia three listings in the top ten. Meanwhile, with Victoria taking numbers six (Wyndham Vale), eight (Hoppers Crossing), nine (Truganina) and 10 (Tarneit) in the list, its total tally comes to six.

New South Wales has one entry, with Liberty Grove's units recording a vacancy rate of 14.89% with DSR score.

Read on for a breakdown of the five suburbs in each state with the highest vacancy rates, according to DSR score. Bear in mind, however, that vacancy rates are only an indicator of the health of a suburb's rental market, so it's vital to do your own research when looking at potential areas in which to buy an investment property.

State

Locality

Type

Vacancy

ACT

HARRISON

H

6.54%

ACT

AMAROO

H

5.11%

ACT

FORDE

H

4.39%

ACT

DEAKIN

H

2.99%

ACT

BELCONNEN

U

2.90%

NSW

LIBERTY GROVE

U

14.89%

NSW

RHODES

U

13.60%

NSW

JINDABYNE

U

12.00%

NSW

CONCORD WEST

H

11.69%

NSW

GLENORIE

H

11.49%

QLD

RUSSELL ISLAND

H

9.80%

QLD

LOWOOD

H

8.90%

QLD

PALM COVE

U

8.25%

QLD

REDBANK PLAINS

H

8.03%

QLD

HOPE ISLAND

H

7.90%

SA

PORT ELLIOT

H

41.00%

SA

MURRAY BRIDGE

H

29.40%

SA

MIDDLETON

H

25.30%

SA

HAYBOROUGH

H

7.78%

SA

MUNNO PARA WEST

H

7.70%

TAS

OLD BEACH

H

10.90%

TAS

LEGANA

H

9.65%

TAS

GEORGE TOWN

H

7.39%

TAS

BEACONSFIELD

H

7.06%

TAS

SHEARWATER

H

7.00%

VIC

DOREEN

H

30.40%

VIC

MERNDA

H

30.40%

VIC

WYNDHAM VALE

H

15.70%

VIC

TRUGANINA H

14.40% 

VIC

TARNEIT H

14.40%

WA

BALDIVIS

H

11.14%

WA

NARROGIN

H

9.00%

WA

WAROONA

H

6.54%

WA

COLLIE

H

6.50%

WA

JURIEN BAY

H

5.86%

Source: www.DSRscore.com.au

For more data on 5,000-plus suburbs, plus all the latest news and analysis from the YIP team, pick up the latest issue of Your Investment Property magazine.

More stories:

+500% price increases: suburbs where growth just won’t quit

Revealed: Brisbane’s unit hotspots and not-spots

14 cheap suburbs that could take off in 2012