Canberra records second-lowest percentage of vacant rentals in January

Canberra has the second-smallest percentage of vacant rentals among Australia’s capital cities, new statistics show.

But the rate of empty properties has barely budged in the last 12 months, falling less than one per cent.

In January, 1.5 per cent of the national capital’s houses and units were empty, second to only Hobart on 1 per cent.

It was a different story elsewhere in Australia with rates as high as 3.8 per cent, as recorded in Darwin, the Domain statistics reveal.

Overall, Canberra’s rental vacancy rate has fallen just 0.5 per cent from the 2 per cent recorded a year earlier.

The percentage of vacant houses has dropped by just 0.2 per cent since January, 2014 , while the portion of vacant units has fallen 1.3 per cent over the 12-month period.

Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson said Canberra’s lack of housing might be forcing more renters into units, as the apartment-building boom of the last couple of years tapered off.

He said Canberra was experiencing a “chronic under-supply of houses” with no signs of abating anytime soon.

The number of new houses approved for construction in Canberra last year was the lowest in more than a decade, with 1053 new home builds approved in 2015.

“I think there’s more tenants having to choose units rather than houses because there are more available,” Dr Wilson said.

“Perhaps the choice of units is a little easier than for houses because of higher rents and more competition for [houses].”

Ngunnawal was home to the highest percentage of of vacant houses for rent in the ACT with 15 dwellings sitting empty last month.

The average cost of renting the properties was $400 a week.

Gungahlin was next with 13 vacancies and an average cost of $500 a week, followed by Kambah and Watson with 11 vacancies each and average costs of $460 and $450 respectively.

Kingston was home to the highest number of vacant units with 36 awaiting new tenants. The average cost of renting the empty apartments was $483 a week.

Braddon was next with 32 vacancies and an average cost of $420, ahead of Belconnen with 30 spare units attracting an average $380.

Canberra had the second-smallest percentage of vacant houses and the third-lowest percentage of vacant units among Australia’s capital cities.

In January 1.1 per cent of houses for rent were empty, behind Hobart on 0.9 per cent. Perth had the highest portion of vacant houses with 3.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, 2.3 per cent of Canberra’s rental units were not filled in January, behind Hobart’s 1.6 per cent vacancy rate and Sydney’s 2.2 per cent rate. Darwin finished the month with 5.3 per cent of the city’s apartments empty.

The ACT’s decreasing vacancy rate follows a significant drop in empty rental properties last year, from 3.5 per cent in June to 2.1 per cent in October.

Canberra’s office vacancy rate has also fallen from 15.3 per cent to 14.9 per cent over the second half of 2015.