According to the PropTrack Rental Report June 2024, Canberra rent prices remained steady over the year to June, despite tighter supply and increasing demand.

The report found that median rents fell 1.6% over the quarter to $600 per week, unchanged from a year prior, despite falling new (-16.8%) and total (-6.1%) rental listings available on realestate.com.au over the year to June.

Key ACT findings from the report: 

• New rental listings on realestate.com.au fell 16.8% over the year to June in Canberra yet sat 54.7% above the decade average to June 2022.
• Supply was tighter in June compared to a year earlier, as total rental listings declined by 6.1%. Even so, total listings were 56.2% above the decade average to June 2022.
• As rental supply decreased year-on-year, demand for available properties grew, with median days on site at 24 days in June compared to 28 a year earlier.
• The average number of enquiries per listing in Canberra increased 21.1% annually to reach 9.91 in June.

• Canberra had the highest rental vacancy rate of all markets in June at 1.8%, having risen 0.43 percentage points over the quarter.
• Median advertised rents in Canberra fell 1.6% over the June quarter to $600 per week.

Meanwhile, national rents remained unchanged over the quarter, at $600 per week in June 2024. However, they have increased by 9.1%, or $50, since June 2023.

Total rental listings increased by 10.7% over the June quarter. Despite this, conditions remained tight as stock was 4.4% lower year-on-year. The national rental vacancy rate rose to 1.4% in June 2024, up from 1.1% in the March quarter.

PropTrack Director Economic Research, Cameron Kusher, said: “As rental price growth has slowed over the past year, the 9.1% increase since June 2023 remains substantial and significantly exceeds both the rate of inflation and household income growth.”

“Weakening rental growth likely reflects the trade-offs that renters are making due to the heightened cost of rent and living. Some of these trade-offs may include renting smaller properties, renting in less desirable locations where rental costs are cheaper or sharing rental accommodation with other tenants.

“Increased lending activity to first home buyers has seen renters with the means exiting the market to purchase, while increased lending to investors will also likely alleviate some rental pressures.

“However, the supply of homes available for renters still consistently trails the demand for rentals, with this imbalance being persistently exacerbated by limited new housing construction and a heightened number of investors exiting the market in recent years with the rebound in investor purchasing only being witnessed over the past year.”

For more information and to view the full report, visit realestate.com.au/insights.