By Holly McGuinness
Rental prices across the country are continuing to rise at record rates, but property data analysts at CoreLogic are “tentatively” expecting the market to ease.
Outlining a slow in growth for the final CoreLogic quarterly rental review of 2022, there was a 2 per cent rent rental value growth in the December quarter, compared to 2.3 per cent in September.
CoreLogic head of research, Eliza Owen said that despite the steadying market in the second half of the year, there’s been a slight increase in rentals available.
“While a slowdown in the pace of rent rises could be a sign that the rental market is starting to shift, it’s not great news for tenants just yet,” Ms Owen said.
“Rents are still rising in most capital cities and regional areas with vacancy rates low.”
Since the rise began in September 2020, rent has lifted 22.2 per cent, marking the largest rental upswing in the 18 years since CoreLogic began recording the data.
During this 27-month period, the median weekly rent for dwellings rose from $430 per week, to $519.
It’s the tenth month in a row that more rentals are being listed which explains the easing vacancy rates across the country.
Ms Owen said the rising vacancy rate and slowing market could be due to various factors.
“It is not entirely clear whether the rental market will continue inching toward a turning point, or if this is a temporary, seasonal reprieve due to higher new listings through December,” she said.
“New advertised rent listings saw a seasonal peak in the four weeks to December 11th. Through this period, 50,867 new advertised rental listings were counted by CoreLogic, which is the highest volume observed since mid-February, another seasonal high point.
“However, it’s important to recognise despite the increase in rental listings, the figures remain -13.8 per cent lower than the previous five-year average for this time of year.”
