Rising vacancy and falling rent in Melbourne
Melbourne is seeing a rise in vacancy rates and a fall in median rent, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV).
REIV’s June rental market statistics showed an increase in the vacancy rate from 2.8 per cent in May to 3.4 per cent in June.
Vacancies remained highest in the middle suburbs where 3.6 per cent of rental homes were vacant, while the inner and outer suburbs are experiencing vacancy rates of 3.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.
In addition, the average weekly rent for houses across the city decreased from $390 to $381, while units decreased from $380 to $375.
Despite overall trends, there was an increase in weekly house rent in the middle suburbs from $340 to $350.
Meanwhile, in many parts of regional Victoria vacancy rates have been falling, with the most significant change in Geelong, where REIV said the vacancy rate fell from 6.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
Median rents have remained stable in regional Victoria.