Landlords have ‘no scope to lift rental rates’
The rental market is expected to show persistent weakness, with growth slowing sharply over the past year.
According to CoreLogic RP Data, the annual change in capital city rents is now tracking at the lowest level on record.
Across the capital cities, houses fell 0.5 per cent to $490 over the past 12 months while units rose 1.2 per cent to $467. Yields in the combined capitals dropped from 3.7 per cent to 3.4 per cent.
In Darwin, houses decreased by 12.7 per cent to $525 while units fell 12.5 per cent to $415 and yields dropped from 5.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent.
Perth’s houses dropped 8.8 per cent to $441 while units fell 9.4 per cent to $393. Yields for Perth fell from 4.0 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
In Brisbane, houses fell 0.5 per cent to $436 while units decreased by 1.3 per cent to $406 and yields for the city fell from 4.6 per cent to 4.3 per cent.
In Adelaide, houses climbed 0.4 per cent to $377 and units jumped 1.3 per cent to $323. Adelaide’s yields fell from 4.2 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
Melbourne’s houses rose 1.8 per cent to $463 while units increased by 0.7 per cent to $405 and yields dropped from 3.3 per cent to 3.0 per cent.
In Hobart, houses rose 1.0 per cent to $351 and units increased by 2.2 per cent to $304. Yields for Hobart remained unchanged at 5.3 per cent.
In Sydney, houses rose 1.0 per cent to $619 while units climbed 2.6 per cent to $546 and yields fell from 3.5 per cent to 3.3 per cent.
Canberra’s houses increased by 2.6 per cent to $521 and units rose 1.4 per cent over the same period to hit $408; however, yields for the city fell from 4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent.
CoreLogic RP Data noted that landlords will continue to have little to "no scope to lift rental rates" and may actually need to reduce rents in order to keep their tenants.