The market is showing signs of life again after being "frozen" by the Omicron variant
There are positive signs for vacancy rates in major metropolitan areas after months of a “frozen” market in NSW, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales.
The REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey results for January show that residential vacancy rates have dropped across the major metropolitan areas of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
That’s a welcome change from the previous results. Just last month, REINSW warned that the NSW rental market had been essentially “frozen” by the impact of the Omicron variant.
“What a difference a month makes,” said Tim McKibbin, CEO of REINSW. “Sydneysiders – and indeed people across New South Wales – are coming out of hibernation. While there has been an exodus from metropolitan areas in recent months, it looks like the tide is starting to turn. The vacancy rate in Sydney overall fell by 0.3% to be 2.5% in January. The Inner and Outer Rings of Sydney also fell by 0.3% to be 3.4% and 1.5%, respectively. The Middle Ring remained stable at 2.9%.”
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Vacancy rates tightened outside Sydney, dropping to 1.8% (-0.3%) in Newcastle and to 0.4% (-0.4%) in Wollongong. Vacancy rates across regional NSW remained low, posting only small movements.
“The hesitancy we saw in the market leading into the festive season due to the Omicron variant seems to be dissipating and people are returning to metropolitan areas,” McKibbin said. “And, as we would expect, the pre-Christmas market lull is reversing as people make decisions about their work and living plans for the coming year. This bodes well for the residential rental market going forward.”
