Victorian tenants warned they may need to ‘suck up’ and pay more for new leases as available rental homes slump – Beragampengetahuan

Homes available for lease around the state continue to hover at just 1 per cent vacancy. Picture: Fiona Byrne/Supplied

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Victoria’s rental vacancy rate is skidding along the bottom of the barrel, with just over 7000 (1.14 per cent) of the state’s leaseable homes available in November.

And with the state headed to its busiest time of the year early in the new year, a range of experts have warned tenants they might be better off signing a new lease early and shelling out an extra $2000 on doubled-up rental payments to avoid being forced to a hotel or short-stay rental at one of the most expensive times of year.

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Extrapolated against latest Census data’s 624,671 estimate of homes in the Victorian rental market, The PropTrack vacancy rate indicates just 7120 homes would have been available to tenants in the past month — an increase of about 200.

Economist Paul Ryan said a “very slight improvement” of 0.03 per cent in Melbourne’s rental market was a sign things could be turning a corner, but with regional Victoria falling 0.3 per cent in the same period to 0.99 per cent the state’s overall position was “about as bad as it has been”.

Mr Ryan warned that any improving conditions for tenants would likely pause as the city went into a period with “a lot of churn” for tenancies as newly arriving migrants and students competed with families looking to relocate for school and work early in 2024.

“And that all means it will be very, very tough for people in the new year,” Mr Ryan said.

“So my general advice for renters is to start looking earlier. You may look at paying rent for an extra three weeks (on two homes).”

PropTrack economist Paul Ryan.

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PropTrack is the research division of REA Group, which recently released a report into Measures to ease the Victorian rental crisis including suggestions of increasing the supply of rental homes, making better use of the state’s existing residences, providing more long-term lease options for tenants and increased social housing creation.

Chief Customer Officer Kul Singh said the ideas were developed at a workshop with the real estate group, industry leaders and rental experts, with REA Group seeking to destigmatise renting as well as improve relationships between tenants and rental providers.

Rental Search Australia co-founder Jade Costello said she was now actively advising those expecting to need or want a new rental in Melbourne to start their search early and even to consider paying double rent to lock something before they need it if they were approved.

“There’s so much more competition at the moment,” Ms Costello said.

“What we are advising to anyone that’s moving is to suck up that extra cost.”

She estimated a tenant paying $500 a week might expect to shell out an extra $2000, but noted that could give them more certainty at a time of year when short-stay rental and hotel room costs were “astronomical”.

Little Real Estate property services executive general manager Anne Crarey said they were seeing even tighter vacancy rates for more apartments in Melbourne’s inner east, with areas from Richmond and South Yarra to Hawthorn and Camberwell recording an 0.85 per cent vacancy rate that had fallen below 1 per cent in the past three months.

“We can get up to 25 groups attending an open home,” Ms Crarey said.

Worryingly, the firm has about 8000 rentals around Victoria and is expecting that number to decline with up to 10 per cent of their rentals coming up for sale as landlords buckle under the strain of rising tax bills, mortgage costs and cost of living pressures in their own lives.

“And most of our sales are going to owner occupiers,” she said.

Ms Crarey added that they expected the difficult conditions would lead to more tenants doing what they could to stay put rather than chance seeking a new rental in the new year.

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