I’m starting to get a bit concerned about January. Every year in January, rental inquiry spikes. Anyone who has been around the rental industry knows it and plans around it.
Landlords aim to get their leases to finish at that time to minimise vacancy and maximise rent. Agencies manage holidays around it to handle the influx of inquiry. Local tenants try to have their leases renewed before Christmas to avoid standing in long lines at open homes and missing out.
This wave is fueled by many factors. The most prominent are students and families moving in time for the start of the school year. Combine this with all of those tenants that have had their seasonal leases expire.
Separately, over the past 12-18 months, a record number of landlords have been selling their investment properties. They are taking advantage of capital price increases against the increase in expenses. These properties are largely selling to homeowners, not investors.
Now consider all of these factors and imagine how big the wave of new tenants will be next January given how strong interstate migration has been this year. Consider how many properties have been removed from the rental market. This all leads to a major intersection of the supply versus demand lanes. Unless there are some new properties in the market, a spike in rents in January and record low vacancy rates seems like an inevitability.
Haesley Cush I This article is from the September 24th issue of The Courier Mail Digital Edition. To subscribe, visit https://www.couriermail.com.au/
Cush for Comment September 24th
I’m starting to get a bit concerned about January. Every year in January, rental inquiry spikes. Anyone who has been around the rental industry knows it and plans around it.
Landlords aim to get their leases to finish at that time to minimise vacancy and maximise rent. Agencies manage holidays around it to handle the influx of inquiry. Local tenants try to have their leases renewed before Christmas to avoid standing in long lines at open homes and missing out.
This wave is fueled by many factors. The most prominent are students and families moving in time for the start of the school year. Combine this with all of those tenants that have had their seasonal leases expire.
Separately, over the past 12-18 months, a record number of landlords have been selling their investment properties. They are taking advantage of capital price increases against the increase in expenses. These properties are largely selling to homeowners, not investors.
Now consider all of these factors and imagine how big the wave of new tenants will be next January given how strong interstate migration has been this year. Consider how many properties have been removed from the rental market. This all leads to a major intersection of the supply versus demand lanes. Unless there are some new properties in the market, a spike in rents in January and record low vacancy rates seems like an inevitability.
Haesley Cush I This article is from the September 24th issue of The Courier Mail Digital Edition. To subscribe, visit https://www.couriermail.com.au/