Rent crisis: ‘Good news’ for tenants despite grim outlook

Latest vacancy figures offer faint hope to the huge majority of Queensland tenants experiencing extreme rental pain. Here’s why

The number of vacant properties increased slightly last month due to an uptick in investor activity, offering faint hope to the huge majority of Queensland tenants experiencing extreme rental pain.

PropTrack’s latest Market Insight Report, released today, shows beleaguered Brisbane renters were granted some relief in June, with the vacancy rate up 0.05 percentage points to 1.2 per cent.

Rental vacancy eased last month

But the River City remains the third tightest rental market in the country behind Adelaide and Darwin, despite conditions easing over the past year with the vacancy rate now .17 percentage points higher than in June 2023.

The share of rental properties vacant and available in Brisbane remained a whopping 45 per cent down since the start of pandemic in March 2020, while conditions in regional Queensland were more dire still, with 48 per cent fewer rental homes on the market.

Regional Queensland also notched up a tiny increase in vacancy through June, to 1.26 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty

PropTrack senior economist and report author Anne Flaherty said the jump in listings was “good news for renters”, but noted a “chronic undersupply of rental properties” was likely to continue over the next few years.

This was despite the nation’s vacancy rate easing for four consecutive months, from a record low of 1.09 per cent in February to 1.42 per cent in June.

“Supporting higher vacancy rates has been an increase in investor activity, which is contributing to an increase in the number of available rental properties,” Ms Flaherty said.

“Despite the recent easing in vacancy rates, the chronic undersupply of rental properties is likely to continue.

“Development activity is lagging poulation growth, with the shortfall in new housing worst in WA, Queensland, and NSW,” she said.

A three-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Kirwan advertised to rent at $440 a week

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It comes as the Rental Pain Index Report by SuburbTrends shows the impact of high rent remains a critical issue.

The number of Queensland suburb areas experiencing “extreme rental pain” climbed to more than 81 per cent — “indicating worsening affordability challenges”, according to SuburbTrends founder Kent Lardner.

While increasing vacancy rates were encouraging signs of easing rental pressure in some areas, high rents consuming more than 30 per cent of household budget continued to burden many families across the state.

This three-bedroom house in Zillmere was available to rent at $570 a week

“The impact of high rents on household budgets is profound,” Mr Lardner said.

“Many families are forced to allocate a substantial portion of their income to housing, leaving little room for other essential expenses.

“It is crucial for policymakers to focus on reducing rental costs to sustainable levels.”

Originally published as Rent crisis: ‘Good news’ for tenants despite grim outlook