REIWA CEO Cath Hart noted that Perth has experienced a prolonged period of low vacancy rates. “The vacancy rate is a reflection of demand and supply, and these factors have been changing over the past six months,” she said.
“Demand has been self-moderating. We’ve seen an increase in the size of tenant households, and people choosing to buy over renting or choosing to remain in, or return to, the family home to avoid the rental roundabout.
“We’ve also seen completed investor new builds come to the market and boost supply. In addition, some tenants finally had their new homes completed and moved out of their rental, which freed up some existing supply.
“This has contributed to the increase in the vacancy rate.”
Ms Hart added that while the overall vacancy rate was rising, conditions varied across different areas of Perth.
“Anecdotally, some suburbs, such as those closer to the city, are experiencing strong demand and the vacancy rate remains low,” she said.
“In those areas where a lot of new builds have become available in the past few months, vacancies are taking longer to fill.”
REIWA considers a balanced market to have a vacancy rate between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent. The last time Perth’s rental market was in this range was September 2019.
Ms Hart said that if current trends continued, Perth’s vacancy rate could reach equilibrium by mid-2025.