The CoreLogic home value report shows while housing is taking a relative downfall, rental value growth actually remains high across Australia; the report suggest regional rents are up 25.5%., and indeed, we have seen rents increase over the past few months, although not by this much.

What this means is, as rents continue to rise and dwelling values generally trend lower, gross rental yields remain on a rapid upwards trajectory.

This is good news for investors; the report suggests a tighter rental market together with rising yields should help to motivate investors returning to the market. Once interest rates and housing prices stabilise, it is likely investors will become more active, positioning for medium-to-long term capital gains and taking advantage of strong rental conditions.

However, what the report doesn’t tell us is what the vacancy rates are – it’s no good to have an investment property if it’s sitting there empty and not earning you money!

The past few months have seen higher vacancy rates in Newcastle compared to the rest of NSW, and in fact the rest of Australia.

To give you some idea of properties for rent in the area, at time of writing, according to realestate.com.au, there are 681 properties available to rent across the Newcastle – Greater region area, of which 380 are houses and 301 units and apartments.

Why vacancy rates are higher in our region

Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen a massive change to Newcastle’s CBD; investment has seen it transformed from what was a fairly deserted and run-down city centre, into a vibrant and thriving community, with new paving, landscaping and public amenity improvements.

At the same time, cranes have dominated the skyline building new unit towers. Many of these new units have been purchased by investors, causing an increase in this type of rental property.

As a result, whilst house rental prices have risen a lot over the last few years, unit prices have stayed relatively the same. Furthermore, the pandemic saw a spike in rental vacancies as people sought alternative accommodation.

We buck the regional trend!

According to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REI NSW), the vacancy rate in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie sits at around just over 2 %.

However, our figures show a vacancy rate at under 1 %.

As you can see by the graph above, our vacancy rate is consistently below the regional average.

How do we do it?

We work every day for our property owners, and work with potential tenants, showing them properties numerous times a week not just on a Saturday morning.

See how we keep our vacancy rates low, regardless of the conditions, in this blog here.

Low vacancy rates are just one of the many reasons why over 300 property owners choose us to manage their properties.

Investors value our high standards, and the nearly 50 years of experience behind our family run business.

If you want to find out more about our property management services, please call us on 02 4954 8833, send us an email to: mail@apnewcastle.com.au or call into the office if you want to know more.