Rent.com.au Monthly Market Report for March 2019

Report Highlights

• Half of Australia’s states and territories (Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra) recorded an
increase in house median rents in March.
• Hobart was the strongest performer month-on-month with house rents up 4.6%.
• Steepest decline in regional rents was in the NT – down 9% month-on-month.
• Across all property types, Perth was the cheapest place to rent a room in January at $126/week.

Days on Market

Adelaide apartments saw the most significant improvement in time on market in March; taking 20 days to
shift on average (19.9% faster). Houses in the SA capital were also off market 0.4% faster in March – now 21
days. For houses, the most noticeable shift month-on-month for houses was in Darwin – this property type
came off market 10% faster in March, an average of 26 days to move.

RENT CEO Greg Bader said noticeable movement across most capitals indicated healthy leasing activity
which has prompted increased demand. “Good news for property owners and investors who are starting to
see their vacancy time reduced,” he said.

Perth Market

The strongest-performing capital city in March was Hobart, where house rents jumped 4.6% to $450/week,
Rent.com.au reported. Hobart wasn’t alone in its increase, however, with half the states/territories recording
Nationally, there was a 2.2% rise in house values in March, which was driven upward by movement in Perth
(1.3%), Hobart (4.6%), Darwin (2.1%) and Canberra (1.8%).

Median house rents in Perth are the lowest of any capital city, despite a small increase in March, but
housing conditions remain a challenge for the WA capital.

On a national level, apartment prices were stagnant, brought about by rent falls in the country’s smaller
capitals, but levelled out with small rises in Sydney and Melbourne, up 1.9% and 2.4% respectively.

SOURCE: Rent.com.au