NSW: Rental availability jumps in outer Sydney
26 Feb 2009 12:01 AM
EDS: Embargoed until 0001 AEDT Thursday, Feb 26
SYDNEY, Feb 26 AAP - The number of rental properties available in outer Sydney has jumped to levels not seen in 18 months while vacancy rates in inner suburbs dropped or remain unchanged.
Renters in the NSW Hunter region and Central Coast also saw a boost but availability fell in the Illawarra.
Available rentals located 25km or more from Sydney's CBD increased by 0.3 percentage points to 1.7 per cent in January, the Real Institute of NSW (REINSW) said in a statement.
"In fact, the result is more than double that recorded in May 2008 when available properties in outer Sydney hit their lowest level for some years of 0.8 per cent," REINSW president Steven Martin said.
"There is a clear trend now occurring which points to a return of investors to the market, at least in certain areas."
The overall vacancy rate for Sydney stands at 1.4 per cent, which is the same as it was in December.
Vacancies within 10km of the CBD remained at 1.3 per cent for January while properties within 10-25km of the CBD lost ground from a drop of 0.2 percentage points in available properties, bringing the January figure down to 1.3 per cent.
The Hunter region had a jump of 0.3 percentage points to 2.0 per cent and a similar increase in the Central Coast raised its January overall figure to 2.3 per cent.
Vacancies in the Illawarra dropped by 0.3 percentage points to 2.6 per cent while availability in other parts of NSW remained the same or dropped in January.
