19/11/2007
The “horrendous” Sydney rental market is at crisis point according to the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW).
The year-long rental drought worsened in October 2007, with vacancy rates in the city falling to 0.9%, the lowest level recorded by REINSW in the seven years it has been collating this particular data.
“This is horrendous – a real crisis point,” said REINSW spokesman Wayne Stewart. “For renters it’s the same old story – there’s nowhere to move to and because of the shortage, those who are already renting can expect to see their weekly rents continue to rise.”
Median rents in Sydney have gone up by $30 a week in the past year and the number of rental bonds lodged with the NSW Department of Housing has fallen by 6.5% – proof that tenants are staying put, and paying more for the privilege.
Vacancy rates have been tightest in inner Sydney at 0.8%, compared to 1.7% in June 2007. The south coast area of the Central Coast had the highest vacancy rates, at 4.8%, ultimately unchanged since June.
Newcastle had a vacancy rate of 1.4% in October 2007, compared to 2.1% in Wollongong and 2.4% on the Central Coast – nearly half of what it was in July 2007 (4.6%).
