‘Flooded’ rental market in Sydney tipped for 2019

The data shows the rise was driven by Middle Sydney; which jumped 1.6 per percentage points to 5.1 per cent, and Inner Sydney; up 0.5 of a percentage point to 3.0 per cent.

Outer Sydney increased 0.3 of a percentage point to 3.3 per cent.

REINSW president Leanne Pilkington said the increases applied broadly across all of the city.

“Our feedback from agents suggests that the market is being flooded with new units, making older units more difficult to rent.

“As a result agencies are using tactics such as decreasing rent prices and offering free rent periods to secure tenants,” she said.

In Wollongong, the vacancy rate remained steady at 2.7 per cent, while other area’s in the Illawarra fell 2.0 percentage points at 1.0 per cent and contributed to an overall decline of 1.2 percentage points to 1.5 per cent.

In the Hunter, vacancy rates rose 0.3 of a percentage point to 1.9 per cent, while Newcastle went up 0.1 of a percentage point to 1.9 per cent.

Across regional areas, Albury fell 0.4 of a percentage point to 2.2 per cent, New England dropped 0.1 of a percentage point to 1.9 per cent, while Central Coast rose by 0.1 of a percentage point to 2.0 per cent.