Overview
- The Domain March‑quarter report released Thursday found national rental vacancy at about 0.7 percent, the lowest on record.
- The report describes a shift where budgets now cap prices, with no quarterly rent growth in Sydney or Canberra and more renters downsizing or moving further out to cope.
- Perth stood out with a 5.7 percent jump in the quarter to a record $740 a week, as the city’s vacancy tightened to 0.3 percent.
- In Melbourne, unit asking rents reached a record $600 a week and, for the first time, sit above house rents, driven by returning students and renewed migration.
- Industry groups warn flagged changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the May budget could prompt small landlords to sell, which they say would shrink rental stock over time.