Advertised rents in Australia’s capital cities have dropped, in the largest monthly percentage decline recorded since 2020.
A fall of 0.5 per cent was recorded in May, according to a new report by SQM Research.
This was “driven by falls in Sydney and an unchanged reading out of Melbourne”, the report said.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
“This represents the largest monthly percentage decline in rents at the capital city level since April 2020.”
The national median weekly rent is now $624 per week.
Rents in Sydney, Darwin and Hobart all dropped in the past month.
In Sydney, rent dropped by 1.1 per cent to $844 a week.
The median rent for houses dropped by 1.2 per cent to $1049.68 while the rent for units declined by 1 per cent to $703.92.
In Darwin, rent decreased by 6.3 per cent to $566.27.
However, the median rent for houses actually increased by 0.3 per cent to $694.39.
It was the weekly rent for units that was responsible for the overall decline, with a whopping drop of 11.9 per cent in weekly rents, down to $479.06.
In Hobart, the median rent dropped by 0.3 per cent to $501.91.
The rent for houses dropped by 1.2 per cent to $528.04 while the rent for units increased by 1.2 per cent to $462.97.
Rent increase in some states
For renters in other states, the news wasn’t as celebratory.
In Melbourne, the median rent showed no change and stayed at $634.50.
However, the rent for houses dropped by 0.3 per cent to $742.33 while the rent for units increased by 0.2 per cent to $558.73.
Rent in Canberra also showed no change, staying at $655.83.
The rent for houses rose by 0.8 per cent to $764.47, while rent for units was down by 0.8 per cent to $564.23.
Renters in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide were unfortunately faced with an increase in rent.
In Brisbane, the median rent increased by 0.7 per cent to $659.74.
The rent for houses increased by 0.5 per cent to $721.29 while the rent for units increased by 1 per cent to $584.54.
In Perth, rent increased by 0.4 per cent to $714.95.
The rent for houses increased by 0.1 per cent to $789.97 while the rent for units increased by 0.9 per cent to $610.25.
In Adelaide, rent increased by 2.1 per cent to $592.50.
The median rent for houses increased by 1.8 per cent to $645.92 while the rent for units increased by 2.8 per cent to $490.38.
Rises in the last year
While rent dropped overall in the last 30 days, it has risen across the board in the last 12 months.
Rents in all capital cities but Canberra, Darwin and Hobart have risen — with average rent in capital cities rising by 8.9 per across the board.
Nationally, rent has risen by 9.2 per cent.
“The rental crisis is still far from over at this stage,” Managing Director of SQM Research Louis Christopher said.
“The full-year outlook remains the same in that we expect overall tight vacancy rates to be with us for 2024, driven by a fall in dwelling completions relative to ongoing growing demand,” Christopher said.