By Olivia Condous
Low rates of rental vacancies in regional areas such as the Moorabool Shire means tenants are more vulnerable to rent increase pressure.
Recent property and rental data from SQM Research showed the vacancy rate in May this year was 0.7 per cent in Bacchus Marsh and 0.4 per cent in Ballan.
According to the data, the national vacancy rate is sitting at 1 per cent.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Kate Colvin said a healthy vacancy rate sits between 2 to 3 per cent, where there’s roughly the same amount of renters as there are rental properties on the market.
Ms Colvin said a low vacancy rate suggests there are more renters looking for properties than there are properties available.
“That’s where you end up with big increases in rents, because all of that competition means that real estate agents can see that even if they increase the price for the property, they’ll still be able to rent it out,” Ms Colvin said.
“Often they do take that opportunity.”
According to quarterly data from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing for March this year, the median cost of renting a home in Moorabool was $400 a week, whereas the Victorian non-metro average was $385.
The state government has made an effort to combat regional Victoria’s housing struggles through the Big Housing Build initiative,18 regional municipalities received a share of $1.25 billion in funding.
The Moorabool Shire received a minimum investment of $20 million as part of the program, to assist with housing issues across the region.
Ms Colvin said while Everybody’s Home welcomed the state government’s investment, she said it needed to continue beyond its wrap date of 2024 to make a dent in the consequences of “a decade of housing neglect”.
“While the Victorian state government has invested in social housing, we will only start to see significant change once we see a significant promise from the federal government as well.”
