Rental vacancy rate in Adelaide is the lowest in the nation

Those looking for a place to live won’t be surprised by new figures which show Adelaide has the lowest vacancy rate for rentals in the nation.

Adelaide’s rental vacancy rate is the lowest in the nation, new figures from the Real Estate Institute of Australia show, while the amount paid to rent a three-bedroom house has grown by more than 10 per cent over the past year.

The REIA data for the September quarter shows that the vacancy rate in Adelaide’s rental market was just 0.6 per cent, down 0.3 percentage points over the previous 12 months and the lowest in the nation by a long way.

In comparison the national vacancy rate is 3.1 per cent, with the vacancy rate in Melbourne sitting at 5.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent for Sydney.

Rents also increased in the September quarter, with the median rent for a three-bedroom house now coming in at $410 per week, up 2.5 per cent over the quarter and 10.8 per cent over the previous 12 months.

The figure is now just $54 per week less than the national average, despite South Australia’s median sale price being the second-lowest in the nation.

REIA president Adrian Kelly said the tight rental market was putting a lot of pressure on people looking for a place to live.

The lack of housing stock is causing rental stress. Picture: Unsplash/Christian Erfurt

“Now we have hard data that shows just how tight the rental market is in Adelaide while the median house price continues its steady climb,’’ he said.

“We need to see a more normal supply of properties coming to the market to start to ease the affordability issues currently being experienced by first home buyers and tenants.

“One of the policy levers that would support the market stabilising is a bipartisan state and federal plan for housing supply and affordability.”

Mr Kelly said the positive migration seen in South Australia over recent months, while good news for the local economy, was certainly adding to the already competitive rental market.

“Adelaide is a very popular destination for people looking to escape the major cities, either to start afresh or to move home, with the pandemic accelerating remote work and making this a viable option.’’

In good news for those already in the housing market, there was an 11.1 per cent increase in median house values over the 12 months to the end of September, with SA’s median price now coming in at $550,000.

This compares with Sydney’s median house price of $1.499m, which is 55.9 per cent higher than the national average of $962,000.

Perth’s median house price was the lowest in the nation at $520,000.

REIA said there were 5245 sales in Adelaide during the September quarter, with the median house price increasing in Adelaide Middle (3.2 per cent) and Adelaide Outer (2.9 per cent) but decreasing in Adelaide Inner (-3.7 per cent).

The median price for “other dwellings” - including flats, home units, town houses and terrace houses - decreased to $396,000. This is a drop of 2.1 per cent over the quarter and 3.4 per cent over the previous year