ROUNDING out a year that was characterised by a highly competitive rental market, the REIQ’s latest Residential Vacancy Rate Report shows incredibly tight conditions continued in Queensland over the December 2023 quarter.
Queensland’s statewide vacancy rate dipped slightly over the quarter to 0.9 per cent, reflecting a fairly consistent state of affairs over the course of 2023.
The unwanted title of tightest rental market in Queensland was shared by the top and tail of the state – Cook Shire in the north and Goondiwindi in the south – both with a virtually non-existent vacancy rate of zero percent.
In the regional centres, Gladstone experienced the biggest quarter-to-quarter drop down to 1.1 percent, but still maintained the highest rate of vacancy compared to Townsville (1%), Rockhampton (steady at 0.9%) and Livingstone (held 1%), Bundaberg (down to 0.9%), Toowoomba (0.7%), and Mackay (0.6%). Cairns remained unchanged at 0.9 percent, while Fraser Coast (0.7%), and Hervey Bay (0.8%) dipped slightly.
Fast facts: December Quarter 2023
- Queensland Vacancy Rate: 0.9%
- Tightest Vacancy Rates: 0% in Cook and Goondiwindi, and 0.2% in Banana
- Highest Vacancy Rates: 5.7% in Redland’s Bay Islands, followed by 2.7% in Mount Isa
- Biggest falls: -0.6% in Noosa, followed by -0.5% on several coastal markets and Gladstone.
- Biggest rises: +0.6 in Isaac, followed by +0.3% in Whitsunday
The REIQ classes rental markets into three categories, tight, healthy, or weak. These markets are classified according to vacancy rates:
- 0 – 2.5% = tight
- 2.6 – 3.5% = healthy
- 3.6% – plus = weak
