Rent Market Remains In Critical Shortage
Australia’s rental markets remain in severe, critical shortage and that is unlikely to change in 2024.
SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher says given what we know is in the pipeline for dwellings under construction, its likely fewer properties will be built in 2024 than were built in 2023.
Christopher says if there is repeat of 2023, the level of homelessness in Australia will increase.
“The supply/demand imbalance is here to stay for another year, which will likely mean further market rental increases of 7% to 10%,” he says.
Christopher expects Perth to record the largest increase in rents of between 12% to 15%.
While he says Canberra is likely to experience drops in rents of between -2% and -6%.
“For the past 12 months capital city combined market rents have risen by 15.2%, while overall national rents, encompassing regional Australia have risen by 9.2%,” he says.
“The severe mismatch of completed new dwellings for 2023 (expected to be approximately 175,000 dwellings) compared to an additional population expansion of some 575,000 people, has driven yet another year of market rental surges.
“Since January 2020 combined capital city market rents have risen by 40.5%. This is likely the fastest rise in rents since the seventies.”
