Two capitals see sharp drop in rent prices
A new report has revealed that two capital cities are experiencing a year-on-year decline in rent prices for houses and units.
Domain’s latest rental report showed that Darwin’s median weekly asking rent for houses fell by 15.4 per cent to $550 in the 12 months to 31 March 2016, while Perth’s dropped by 11.1 per cent to $400 over the same period.
Hobart led the capitals for year-on-year growth in rents for houses – up 6.1 per cent to a median price of $350, followed by Canberra with 4.4 per cent growth to $470.
Adelaide was next best (up 2.9 per cent to $360), followed by Melbourne (up 2.6 per cent to $400), Brisbane (up 2.5 per cent to $410) and Sydney (up 1.9 per cent to $530).
Darwin also experienced the worst decline in unit rents – down 13.5 per cent to a median price of $450, while Perth was the only other capital city to record a drop in prices at 9.1 per cent to $350.
Melbourne was the top city for unit rent price growth – up 4.1 per cent to $380, followed by Sydney with 4.0 per cent growth to $520.
Brisbane was next best (up 2.7 per cent to $380), followed by Hobart (up 1.8 per cent to $285) and Canberra (up 1.3 per cent to $395).
Adelaide was the only capital city to record no movement in its median rent price ($290) over the 12-month period.
Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson said the declining rent prices in Darwin and Perth reflect the impact of the downturn in the resource economy and the end of the significant rental demand driven by a fly-in fly-out workforce.