SQM Research reported that Australia entered a deep rental crisis, in March.
Last month the number of rental vacancies fell by another 7,000 from 43,844 to 36,868.
There were some big drops recorded in Sydney and Melbourne as the return to the cities took hold.
Nevertheless, SQM reported that many regional centres are still running at near zero vacancies.
Source: SQM Research
There are many reasons why this dynamic has taken hold, from record high employment to a desire for more space, with household formation increasing but the average household size decreasing.
Many households have been using their spare room as an office, increasing demand for space.
And foreign investors have also been forced out of the market, which hasn't helped the rental supply.
At the current rate of absorption, there will only be around 20,000 rental vacancies left by the time the new government takes office.
This would represent the lowest vacancy rate on record, so there will be some immediate policy challenges to take on.
SQM's media release is reporting some sharp increases in asking rents over the past year, especially in Brisbane and Sydney of late.
