'Truly making up for it': What will Canberra's busiest rental period look like this year?

December and January are typically the busiest times in Canberra’s rental market with tenants looking to secure somewhere to live before the start of the work and school year, but what can Canberrans expect this time around?

The peak of rental activity comes in December, with prospective tenants hoping to find a place to live before the New Year regardless of their situation, said Alexandra Ah Key of Blackshaw Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra. 

“December is typically the period where people try to secure a property – even if they aren’t moving in until January – particularly if they need to enrol in specific school catchment zones,” she said. 

“The first half of January is slightly quieter, and activity typically picks up again towards the back end of the month.” 

Amid the worst of the pandemic, Canberra experienced soaring rents and house prices while rental listings decreased, but “this year is well and truly making up for it”, Ah Key added. 

“We are currently seeing large quantities of applications but not necessarily quality in applications,” she said. 

“Days on market have crept up, and we are opening properties for inspection a few more times to secure a great tenancy.” 

Domain data revealed Canberra’s vacancy rate dropped in October for the first time since February, suggesting the rental market still favoured landlords.

Brooke Lloyd of Canberry Properties said there had again been a noticeable uptick in interest in the rental market. 

“There is competition picking up now, and that is largely driven by students looking for accommodation, so there is power there for landlords to ask a little bit more for properties,” she said. 

“Over the last 12 months we have had high prices, but at the moment they are sitting at about $50 less than they were.

“As a whole, however, people are really setting their targets at where they can afford.”

The latest Domain Rental Report revealed Canberra’s median weekly asking rent for a house decreased for the first time in two years in the September quarter, from $690 to $680.

Unit rents remained stable at $550 over the same period. Canberra rents remain the highest of all capital cities, with units now equal to Sydney. 

Canberra house prices have now declined, but despite the record drops, a median of $1,096,114 has forced sellers to rethink, Lloyd added. 

“Across our sales team, we have seen homes on the sales market come to rentals because they are not achieving [the sale] prices that they are looking for,” she said. 

“That is certainly having an impact on the rental landscape.”