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TENANTS considering shopping around for a cheaper rental property could be in luck, with more options reported to be available now compared to a few months ago.
The REIQ’s latest Quarterly Regional Market Monitor report shows the vacancy rate increased only slightly in the March quarter to 1.8 per cent, reflecting a tight market.
However, institute chief executive Antonia Mercorella said the data did not consider a recent influx of properties to the rental pool.
“Recent feedback from local agents indicates the rental market has moved significantly in April, and May is much softer,” she said.
“While the rental market in our major tourism centre is affected by seasonality where demand slows heading into winter, there has been a strong level of new rental supply come online and this has had an immediate impact on the market.
“There is a lag in the available data and while the current statistics suggest tight demand, we expect this to relax in the next two quarters.”
The median rental price for houses in the first three months of the year was $500 a week, and $450 a week for units, according to the report.
REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman Andrew Henderson said JLL’s Smith Collective built-to-rent dwellings on the site of the former 2018 Commonwealth Games athletes village were among those to flood the market in recent months.
He said the abundance of options on the market would prevent rental prices from skyrocketing further.
“Potentially there might be some downward pressure on pricing with supply and demand,” he said.
“I see it more in a balanced-type market.
“For good properties that are priced right, there’s good demand.”
Rental yields in the quarter were recorded at 4.2 per cent for houses and 5.5 per cent for units, both of which were slight rises on the previous quarter’s results.
Source: www.realestate.com.au
