Sydney’s rental vacancy rate has fallen to a record low of 0.8 per cent, according to new data from the Real Estate Institute of NSW, leaving thousands of renters facing extreme competition for an ever-shrinking pool of affordable properties.
The figures, released on Thursday, show that the average time to secure a rental property in Greater Sydney has fallen to just four days — down from an already-brief eleven days twelve months ago — with some inner suburbs reporting that advertised properties receive over 100 applications within 24 hours of listing.
Who is being hardest hit
Tenant advocacy groups say the crisis is falling hardest on low-income earners, single parents, people on government support payments, and recent migrants, who face discrimination in an extreme seller’s market where landlords can select from dozens of applicants.
“We have clients who have been searching for six months and still cannot find anything in their budget,” said Jemima Walsh, CEO of the NSW Tenants Union. “People are staying in unsafe situations because the alternative — homelessness — is worse.”
The NSW government has announced a target of 75,000 new homes per year, but housing advocates say the figure falls far short of what’s needed to address both the backlog and population growth projections.
