November Rental Update

For landlords the quiet time of year is approaching, with many tenants reluctant to move during the Christmas and summer holidays and students travelling, holidaying and returning to their home towns.

CEO Enzo Raimondo said that November’s rental statistics showed that it was good news for landlords. “Melbourne’s rental vacancy rate remained low in November, up just 0.2 per cent on the previous month to return it to the September level of 2.9 per cent.  These rates remain well below those of earlier in the year which began with a rate of 3.6 per cent,” he said.

The city’s middle suburbs accounted for this slight increase in the vacancy rate.  They were up to 3.4 per cent after having fallen to 2.7 per cent in October.  In rate fell in both outer Melbourne and the inner city – from 1.8 to 1 per cent in the outer suburbs and from 2.9 to 2.8 per cent in the inner suburbs.

“Property investors can also take heart at the latest rental news with Melbourne median rents up for both houses and apartments in November. The city wide median house rent in November rose by $3 to $393, the first increase since August, with the median having been stuck on $390 since then,” he said.

The biggest increase was in the inner city which was up for the third consecutive month.  The inner city median house rent was $540, up from $521 in October.  In the middle suburbs the rise was from $379 to $381, while November outer suburban rents were stable at October’s figure of $350.

Melbourne’s median apartment rental rose slightly from $380 to $381 in November and the pattern followed that of houses – increases in the inner and outer suburbs, stable in the middle suburbs. In regional Victoria, house rentals were steady as she goes: the median house rental was $300 per week, as it was in October and September.  The median apartment rental fell back $5 to the September figure of $250.

Source: www.reiv.com.au