Gympie’s rental crisis deepens as REIQ demands Palaszczuk Government take action

Regional Queensland, including the Gold City, are seeing some of the “most pronounced” demand levels.

Gympie is still feeling the statewide rental squeeze, according to new REIQ figures.

Gympie continues to experience one of the tighter rental squeezes in Queensland, with new figures showing demand far outweighing available vacancies across the region.

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The latest vacancy report released by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, containing first quarter results for 2021 state rental vacancies, has revealed 78.9 per cent of the state’s rental markets remained static or experienced a tighter strain.

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said regional Queensland, including the Gold City, was seeing some of the “most pronounced” demand levels.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella. Image supplied by the REIQ.

“The tightest vacancies (are) currently to be found in … Maryborough (0.2 per cent) followed by the Southern Downs (0.3 per cent) and Bundaberg regions (0.5 per cent), while a rate of 0.4 per cent has been recorded across Gympie, Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast,” Ms Mercorella said.

“Meanwhile, the Gold Coast has tightened a further 0.3% to reach a record low of 0.6% in last 15 years of data records.”

“Record-low interest rates, government support and stimulus measures, and the pandemic-driven stampede we’ve witnessed migrating beyond our southern borders have sent Brisbane’s private rental market into uncharted territory, pushing vacancy rates down to their lowest levels since October 2012.

“In fact, our capital has seen rental markets across the entire metropolitan tighten quarter-on-quarter for the last four consecutive reporting periods, from Brisbane’s CBD out to the city’s outer rim.”

Ms Mercorella called on the State Government to take “immediate action” to resolve the crisis after “no support measures” for the housing sector were included in last year’s state budget.

“The rental sector plays a critical role in Queensland’s housing system and the role and size of our investor market has never been so important,” she said.

“The State Government say they want to help households transition from community housing to housing in the private rental market. Given that, more needs to be done to better support both increased and ongoing property investor activity in the Queensland property market and the contributions they make to the State economy.”

Ms Mercorella also proposed amendments to the First Home Owner Grant, which have so far excluded existing housing.

“Moving from renting to owning a house is one of the greatest leaps Australians will make in their lives. With current historic low interest rates meaning lower repayments, we’re starting to see cases where mortgage repayments are in fact lower than rent levels,” Ms Mercorella said.

“So, by allowing first home buyers to access property beyond new construction and extend their support to purchase existing housing (to the same current value of less than $750,000), it will expose them to more affordable price points and help more Queenslanders transition from renting to home ownership.

“This in turn will help reduce pressure on the rental market while stimulating economic activity through the introduction of increased numbers to the broader property market. And this will ultimately lead to increased real estate transactions which means increased taxation for the State.”

Originally published as Gympie’s rental crisis deepens as REIQ demands Palaszczuk Government take action