IN A change of pace for the property sector, a local real estate agent says more rental stock is coming onto the market throughout Bass Coast and the wider Gippsland area.
This comes after REA Group launched the PropTrack Rental Report September 2022, a quarterly rental report combining seven key metrics to provide an up-to-date view of the rental property market and emerging trends.
The report highlighted that rental stock increased in regional Victoria in September, easing some of the strong competition renters have faced for some time as demand also softened.
The report found that the total number of properties listed for rent on realestate.com.au in regional Victoria increased 6.4% year-on-year in September.
At the same time, demand fell 19.2%. Despite this, rental prices grew over the period.
Alex Scott and Staff (Phillip Island) director Greg Price said more rental stock would be coming onto the market locally and had been for some time.
“It’s probably reflective of people that might have a home they’re under-utilising and they’re thinking they could earn some income from it,” he said.
“In the short to medium term, I think we’ll see more properties become available.”
However, Mr Price added there had been no decline in asking prices for weekly rents.
“The demand for rentals will remain very strong for the simple reason that people may have been thinking they would dip their toe in as a first homebuyer, but deferred that purchase for a year to see what interest rates do,” he said.
“Overall, the market is incredibly resilient.”
Mr Price said that the property market was also still strong for top end homes.
“Good property is very strong but there is still a shortage of stock,” he told the Sentinel-Times.
“The first homeowner market is probably where we’ve seen the greatest change.
“That’s absolutely tied to what’s going on with interest rates.
“That will start to settle when we see these inflation figures come out, and what the Reserve Bank’s forecast is on what they expect to do with rates for the next two quarters.
“The market is still remarkably resilient, even though we’ve had six rate rises.”
Mr Price noted that Phillip Island and towns throughout Westernport Bay continue to experience a huge demand.
For the rural market, he said it continues to grow and grow.
“For lifestyle and bigger farms, it’s equally as strong as it was this time last year,” he said.
“In particular dairy farms, strong commodity prices and improved, consistently high beef prices have seen the rural market remain very strong.”
Key findings from the PropTrack Rental Report September 2022:
The total number of rental properties listed on realestate.com.au in regional Victoria increased 6.4% year-on-year in September.
The increase in total stock came as the number of new listings rose 2.2% year-on-year.
With additional stock, demand per rental listing on realestate.com.au has declined, falling 19.2% over the past year.
Regional Victoria’s rental vacancy rate remains low and was recorded at 1.1% in September 2022, a slight rise compared to last year.
Rental properties are still being snapped up quickly. The median number of days a property was listed for rent on realestate.com.au in regional Victoria was 22 days in September, though this has risen 2 days over the year.
Regional Victorian rents rose 8.1% year-on-year in the September quarter.