The IPN Regional Rent Index analyses the short-term fluctuations in house rental markets across regions in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, and TAS, excluding capital city areas.
Published monthly, the data is derived from advertised rentals for houses and is calculated over a rolling 12-month sample period. Metrics include median rents for both houses and units, and vacancy rates, all aggregated by the ABS standard known as Statistical Area 3 (SA3).
Regional Rent Index Report Highlights
Housing market
- Regional housing rentals have continued to see increases over the last three months, with TAS being the only state to hold steady with a 0% change. QLD saw the top four changes in rental increases, with Surfers Paradise at 10%, Broadbeach – Burleigh at 9.5%, Noosa at 6.3% and Whitsunday at 6.2%. SA’s Eyre Peninsula and South West rounded out the top 5 with an increase of 6.1%.
Unit market
- All states saw increases in unit rent over the last three months, with QLD identifying the largest increase at 4%, closely followed by SA at 3.8%. Similar to the housing market, the top three regional rent increases came from QLD, with Gold Coast – North at 5.83%, whilst Broadbeach – Burleigh and Bundaberg both saw uplifts of 5.71%. WA rounded out the top five, with East Pilbara at 5.45% and West Pilbara at 5.26%.
Vacancy rates
- Vacancy rates have seen positive decreases, with NSW’s Richmond Valley – Coastal seeing the most significant decrease at -1.5%, holding a vacancy rate of 1.5%. Compared to July 2023, all states saw decreases in regional vacancy rates, with WA dropping from 1.5% to 1.2%. Capital city vacancy rates followed a similar pattern, with TAS seeing a decrease from 2.5% in July to 2.0% in October. QLD held steady at 1.1%.