Up and down quarter for rents in Australia’s regional centres

The December 2015 quarter was a relatively stable one for asking rents for houses in Australia’s regional centres, as regional unit markets experienced tougher conditions.

CoreLogic RP Data’s newly released Regional Rent Report for the quarter revealed regional housing markets in Australia’s states and territories saw at best modest growth in weekly asking rents in the final three months of 2015.

For houses, the Northern Territory was home to the strongest growth over the quarter, with weekly asking rents rising 2.1% to $480.

Conditions were mirrored in South Australia and Tasmania, where weekly asking rents for houses in regional markets increase 1.9% to $265 over the quarter.

Victoria’s regional houses saw a quarterly increase of 1.8% to $290.

Over the quarter, asking rents for houses in regional New South Wales and Queensland both remained unchanged at $350.

In the 12 months to December 2015, South Australia and Tasmania saw the strongest growth, with yearly increases of 1.9%, while WA performed the worst with rents declining 7.5%.

Source: CoreLogic RP Data

For units in regional areas, only regional areas in NSW and Victoria saw asking rents increase over the quarter.

In NSW, asking rents increased 3.1% to $330, while asking rents in Victoria now sit at $250 after a 2% increase.

Tasmania was the worst performing state over the quarter, with weekly asking rents for units falling by 4.2% to $230.

Asking rents for units in Queensland also fell in the quarter, down by 2.9% to $330, while WA saw a 3% quarterly fall to $320.

Asking rents remained steady in South Australia and the Northern Territory over the three-month period.

Over the 12 months to December, NSW easily saw the largest annual increase, with asking rents increasing by 6.5% over the year.

Victoria (2%) and Tasmania (1.1%) also saw yearly increases, while asking rents in South Australia and Queensland are at the same level they were 12 months ago.

The largest yearly decline was recorded in the Northern Territory, with rents down 10.3%, while in WA regional unit rents are 8.6% lower compared to 12 months prior.

Source: CoreLogic RP Data

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