Blog – An overview of Perth’s long term rental trends
Movements in reiwa.com’s widely quoted Perth median rent are driven by the demand and supply of rental stock.
Over the past 10 years, Perth has experienced sustained periods of high demand for rental properties due to the strong migration into Western Australia, which has put pressure on rental stock and driven up rents.
Throughout 2009 and 2010 there were periods of little movement in rent prices followed by a drastic increase in rent which peaked in mid-2013 in line with the overseas and interstate migration peak.
Following this peak, the Perth rental market saw a softening demand due to slowing population growth in WA, and as a result, the overall median rent declined from $475 per week in the 2013 June quarter to $410 per week in the 2015 September quarter (based on preliminary figures).
Vacancy rates
The vacancy rate is the principle measure of tracking rental supply, with a vacancy rate of three per cent widely considered across the industry to be the equilibrium.
When the vacancy rate drops below three per cent, this creates upward pressure on rent prices, while the converse is the case above three per cent.
The decline in WA’s population growth since mid-2013 has put pressure on the vacancy rate, which has gradually increased to its current peak of 5.6 per cent in the 2015 September quarter (based on preliminary figures).
(Source: http://reiwa.com.au/about-us/news/an-overview-of-perth-s-long-term-rental-trends/)