Now is the time to buy a rental property in Rockhampton

Local vacancy rates are good news for property owners.

HARD PICK: Finding a place to rent in Rocky is the hardest it's been in years. Picture: Peter Carruthers

FINDING a property to rent in Rockhampton is the hardest it's been for almost seven years, according to The Real Estate Institute of Queensland's Rental Vacancy Rate Report.

The rental vacancy decreased to 1.4 per cent for the June quarter this year, down 0.6 per cent since the end of last year.

REIQ chair Noel Livingston said the tight vacancy rates were good news for the region.

"We have a better performing regional economy," Mr Livingston said.

He said people moving to the area for work were snapping up the available rental properties, which was ideal for landlords.

"Landlords are starting to dictate terms and they have the opportunity for increased rental return," he said.

"I see it as a very positive outlook for the region."

Rockhampton rental vacancies have remained in the tight range for almost a year when vacancies dropped from 3 per cent in June 2018.

With more infrastructure projects confirmed for the region, Mr Livingston doesn't predict the rental market to change any time soon.

" I cant see us going backwards," he said.

"There's been a lot more jobs that have come into the market place."

The last time rental vacancies were this low was September 2012, which was the turning point for the rental market after it hit reached a decade-low of 0.9 per cent.

Mr Livingston said the consistent market was encouraging prospective buyers to consider investing in the Rockhampton property market.

"The encouraging thing is people down south are noticing the rental market is tight," he said.

"They have the confidence that we can rent them."

From December 2013 to September 2017, rental vacancies were at an all time high for the region but Mr Livingston said the rates were out of character for the market.

He said the Global Financial Crisis and the mining turn down were behind the change.

The report also revealed the median rents for three-bedroom houses, two-bedroom units and three-bedroom town houses in Rockhampton had also increased approximately 2.4 per cent from March 2018 to 2019.

In Livingstone Shire, rental vacancies rose from one per cent in March to 1.2 per cent.

Livingstone rental vacancies have been classified as tight since June 2018.

Originally published as Now is the time to buy a rental property in Rockhampton