Photo by George Bakos on Unsplash
It's only the third time in 40 years the vacancy rate has dropped below 1%, with rents set to spike as a result.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) President Damian Collins said the rate could drop below the lowest ever recorded rate of 0.8% in March 2007.
“With rental listings in Perth falling 8% to 2,926 over the month, we have certainly hit a rental crisis where tenants looking for a rental will potentially find themselves unable to find a home,” Mr Collins said.
“In addition, the reduced supply is putting upward pressure on rents with property managers on the ground finding increases in rent are occurring on new leases, as prospective tenants are in competition with each other to secure the limited supply.”
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| Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Extra Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
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5.93% p.a. | 5.93% p.a. | $2,975 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $395 | 70% | Disclosure |
Perth typically sees an influx of investors in the Spring selling season which increases housing stock, but this hasn't been the case so far this year.
Mr Collins said if investors weren't encouraged back into the market the situation would only worsen.
“Western Australia has approximately 17% of properties purchased by investors, whereas we would normally expect to see investors buying 30% or more of the available properties," he said.
"At the same time, we still have investors exiting the market, meaning the supply of rental properties is not sufficient to keep up with demand."
The Western Australian (WA) government recently announced an extension to the moratorium on evictions and rent increases until March 28 2021.
Mr Collins said the government needed to ensure these provisions were not extended further so investors could feel confident in returning to the market.
"The government needs to send a clear signal to the market that they have no intention of extending the legislation further if we remain relatively COVID-19 free," he said.
"Otherwise investors will continue to sit on their hands and make a bad situation even worse.”
At the time of the extension announcement, WA Commerce Minister John Quigley said the extended moratorium was vital for the state's economic recovery.
"Western Australia is entering a period of economic recovery, however with the threat of COVID-19 and a second wave still real, extending the rent moratorium protects WA renters and landlords, and helps create stability for everyone," Mr Quigley said.
"For residential tenancies, low vacancy rates for rental properties have, and will continue to force rents to rise, and this together with the current unemployment rate, as well as changes to JobKeeper, means families may find themselves in financial hardship.
"To add difficulties in finding rental accommodation or not being able to afford rent to their worries would be an awful proposition."
WA joined every other state, except Queensland, in extending the moratorium on evictions.