BALLARAT’S rental vacancy rate is just 1 per cent.
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Real Estate Institute of Victoria Ballarat branch chairman John McMahon said it had been hovering around this mark for the past 12 to 18 months.
“The industry preference is for a rate somewhere between 2 and 3 per cent,” Mr McMahon said.
“That’s a fair market for both the landlord and the tenants.”
Mr McMahon said there were several reasons for the low vacancy rates, including population growth.
“This has been compounded by a little less activity in the investor market due to the global financial crisis.
“Investors are a bit unsure about the future so tend to do nothing.”
He said a slight social change was also impacting the figures, including people marrying a bit later and renting as singles for longer.
“That puts a bit of pressure on the market too.”
Mr McMahon said the Ballarat rental vacancy rate had dropped to as low as 0.3 per cent.
“I’ll be surprised if there’s much change in the future. I think it will probably hover around that mark.”
Ballarat’s rate compares favourably to Bendigo, which has just a 0.6 per cent vacancy rate, but is worse than Geelong’s 2.3 per cent.
However, REIV chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said Melbourne was moving from a shortage of rental homes to a more balanced market.
“The availability of rental homes in Melbourne has been above 2 per cent for eight months now,” Mr Raimondo said.
“At the same time, availability in regional Victoria remains well below 2 per cent.”
He said there had been a substantial decline in affordable rental accommodation across the state.
“The shortage of housing puts pressure on rents, with an outcome of far fewer affordable rental homes.”
He said the state government needed to increase direct public housing investment, remove investor taxes and improve the planning process.
