Australia’s rental market remains tight despite a modest lift in vacancies, according to new data from SQM Research. The national residential vacancy rate rose to 1.2% in April, up from 1% in March, equating to 35,258 vacant dwellings.
Vacancy levels remain below historical averages, meaning conditions in most markets continue to favour landlords. Sydney’s vacancy rate increased to 1.3% and Melbourne’s to 1.5%, indicating a slight easing compared with earlier in the year. Brisbane (0.8%), Perth (0.6%) and Adelaide (0.7%) remain among the most constrained capital city markets. Darwin is the tightest market nationally, with vacancies slipping to 0.3% and only 75 dwellings available, while Hobart sits at 0.5%.
SQM said its vacancy series is “based on online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties.”
Advertised rents continued to rise into May. National combined rents were up 0.7% over the month and 7.3% over the year. The national average now sits at $696.94 per week, rising to $794.54 across the capitals, supported by gains in both house and unit rents.
National house rents increased 0.5% for the month and 7.8% annually, while unit rents climbed 0.8% over the month and 6.5% year-on-year, reflecting sustained demand for medium‑density accommodation.
Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research, said that “while the national vacancy rate has risen modestly over recent months, rental market conditions remain extremely tight by historical standards, particularly in cities such as Darwin, Brisbane, and Perth.”
Christopher added that “the renewed rise in asking rents — now up 7.3% nationally over the past year — highlights the ongoing imbalance between rental supply and tenant demand across much of the country.”
The data arrive amid reports of increasing landlord sales. In the 2026–2027 federal budget, the Labor government confirmed changes to property taxes, including ending the blanket CGT discount and restricting negative gearing to newly built properties from 1 July 2027. Australia’s rental market has already lost tens of thousands of properties in just three months as landlords sell ahead of the changes.
Christopher cautioned that “this change is going to put additional pressure on the rental market” and said the full impact would only become clear as new data emerge.
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