ALL EYES ON PERTH RENTS 

The state of the rental market in Perth has the industry abuzz. Rental vacancy rates remain high at just under 5 per cent and well above the usual vacancy rate of 3 per cent. But despite this, the median rent has remained steady at $360 per week - well, so far. The talk of the industry is whether the big number of available rental properties will eventually force rents down. According to REIWA president Alan Bourke, the boost to the First Home Owners Grant had freed up a lot of rental stock as people turned from renting to buying. Landlords with apartments in the Perth inner-city area in particular have been warned that they need to set competitive rents because of a surge in vacancy rates over the last three months.

According to Melina Russell, property management business development manager at OrangeTee Real Estate vacancy rates for inner-city apartments have doubled over this time last year. "As a result of rising vacancy rates, landlords who were achieving weekly rents of around $850 for a two-bedroom apartment in the inner city now have to accept weekly rents of $650 if they want to find a reliable tenant," she said. "Vacancy rates have more than doubled because of the completion of a number of major residential apartment developments in the inner city over recent months. "These new developments mean that the supply of inner-city rental properties has dramatically increased and renters have a much greater choice of rental properties."