Rental crisis deepens

Rental crush

SQM Research released its latest rental vacancy rate figures, with all capital cities now appearing to tighten again, with the possible exception of seasonal Darwin (mind you, even there the vacancy rate was a maniacally low 0.6 per cent in February). 

SQM reported that asking rents accelerated to rise by +6.6 per cent over the 12 months to February 2026.

Brisbane's rental vacancy rate is now falling again, down to just 0.8 per cent, according to SQM. 

Source: SQM Research

SQM's CEO Louis Christopher noted that rental demand is clearly outstripping supply, so expect the rental conditions to tighten further. 

Unfortunately, with economists tipping rate hikes in March and May, conditions for developers are now the worst they've been in nearly 20 years. 

You can read SQM Research's media release here. 

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