‘A lot of stress and anxiety’: Canberra's rental vacancy rate hits all-time low

Finding a rental property in Canberra is no stroll in the park. Sometimes it takes weeks, maybe months, of property hunting before an application is approved.

New Domain data has revealed that the capital’s already tight rental market tightened even further in the month of February, putting renters at their wits’ end.

According to Domain’s monthly Vacancy Rates Report, Canberra’s vacancy rate sits at 0.5 per cent, its lowest since Domain records began in 2017. This is down from 0.7 per cent in January and 0.8 per cent in February 2021.

“Canberra’s rental market has always been a landlord’s market and what we saw at the end of February was a whole new realm of a landlord’s market,” Domain chief of research and economics Nicola Powell said.

“Conditions are just getting almost impossible for tenants, particularly for those new to Canberra.”

This was the case for new Canberran Naomi Tafea, who moved to the capital from New Zealand at the start of January for a new job. 

Initially, she thought she’d find something within a month of moving to Canberra. Instead, she ended up living with a friend for six weeks before her application was approved.

“I didn’t realise how competitive, how difficult it would be to get a rental until I officially moved here,” she said.

“I moved here with the idea that it would be relatively easy because, in Auckland, it wasn’t so difficult to find one. If I’d known it’d be this hard, I would’ve actively applied for properties in December when I got the job.”

Ms Tafea eventually found a one-bedroom apartment in the Woden Valley after more than 30 applications and a dozen open home inspections.

“Six weeks felt really long but I spoke with a lot of people who’d been looking for a lot longer,” she said. “I remember going to open homes and there were 30 or so people also waiting to view [each of them].

“I know I was one of 70 applicants who applied for this property. At one point, I was wondering if there was a point in even applying. It just created a lot of stress and anxiety.

“But when I got this rental, I was so stoked. I almost cried.”

Heidi Russell of Little Bird Properties, a property management business, said while demand has not dropped in the last month, there haven’t been enough properties coming to the rental market.

“Five per cent of our rental properties sold in the last six months because landlords want to take advantage of the hot property market,” she said.

“Those looking for a one-bedroom apartment are more likely to find something sooner than later than those looking for three bedrooms or more.

“And those already in a rental are extending their lease to avoid having to go through the process again, so the ratio of demand to available properties is quite low.”

Dr Powell anticipates that “tenants are staring down the barrel of further price increases”.

“We’re already the most expensive capital to rent and I think it’s tightened even further since we hit those record asking rents, so it’s likely we’ll see that push even further,” she said.

According to the latest Domain Rent Report, Canberra’s median asking rent for a house and unit sits at $675 and $530 per week, respectively – making it the most expensive Australian city in which to rent.