NSW rental property market begins to regain lost ground

REINSW chief executive Tim McKibbin has commended this positive turnaround and said, “Sydneysiders – and indeed people across New South Wales – are coming out of hibernation. While there has been an exodus from metropolitan areas in recent months, it looks like the tide is starting to turn.”

The REINSW does point to improvements:

In January, the vacancy rate in Sydney declined by 0.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent. Sydney’s inner and outer rings both declined by 0.3 per cent, to 3.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. The middle ring held steady at 2.9 per cent.

A similar rental market scenario has been observed outside of Sydney, as vacancy rates fell to 1.8 per cent (-0.3 per cent) in Newcastle and 0.4 per cent (-0.4 per cent) in Wollongong.

Vacancy rates in regional NSW also remain low, with very minor fluctuations.

“The hesitancy we saw in the market leading into the festive season due to the Omicron variant seems to be dissipating and people are returning to metropolitan areas,” said Mr McKibbin.

The REINSW data also shows that rental housing saw marginal increases to vacancy rates in the mid-North Coast, Murrumbidgee, Orana, Riverina, South Coast, and south-eastern districts.

However, it decreased in the Coffs Harbour, New England, and Northern Rivers areas.

People are apparently already making plans for their work and living situations for the rest of the year, Mr McKibbin added, as REINSW saw how “the pre-Christmas market lull is reversing”.

“This all bodes well for the residential rental market going forward,” he said.