Rental market Still Strong

Rental property remains in high demand according to the REIV, with the vacancy rate in metropolitan Melbourne below 3% for the last 5 years.

According to REIV spokesman, Robert Larocca, ‘‘A combination of growing population and little growth in construction lead to rapidly increasing prices and rents. Over the past five years, the pressures in the rental market have matched those in the owner-occupier market.''

The  small falls in property values this year, between 3% and 6% depending which data is relied on,  means that  yields on a typical inner city property has edged up from around 3.7% to 4%.