Rental Vacancy Rate Tracker
Australia's rental vacancy rates from SQM Research, tracked month by month — the latest national and capital-city figures, asking rents, and what they mean for investors. Updated within days of every monthly release.
What is Australia's rental vacancy rate right now?
The national residential vacancy rate held at 1.3% in July 2026 — 40,771 vacant dwellings, up from 39,229 in June — per SQM Research's 13 August release. The rate has plateaued but the split has widened: Sydney and Melbourne rose to 1.7% and Canberra to 1.8% (the loosest capital), while Adelaide and Hobart tightened to 0.6% and five capitals sit below 1%. Every capital remains below 2%, so conditions still favour landlords everywhere — but the vacancy map now tracks the price map.
The Latest Numbers (July 2026)
National: 1.3% vacancy · 40,771 vacant dwellings (+1,542 on June) · asking rents +7.2% year-on-year (+0.2% over 30 days). The easing is concentrated where prices are falling — Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra all rose — while Adelaide and Hobart tightened to 0.6%.
Vacancy Rate by Capital City — July 2026
Every capital sits below 2% — well under the 2.5–3.5% range generally considered balanced — but the spread runs from Canberra at 1.8% to Darwin at just 0.3%, with five capitals below 1%. The national reading is shown in amber for reference.
Source: SQM Research, National Vacancy Rates bulletin, July 2026 data (released 13 August 2026).
| City | Vacancy rate | Vacant dwellings | Direction (m/m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 1.7% | 12,782 | Easing — up from 1.5% a year ago |
| Melbourne | 1.7% | 9,346 | Easing m/m — still below year-ago |
| Brisbane | 0.9% | 3,057 | Flat |
| Perth | 0.6% | 1,241 | Flat (tight) |
| Adelaide | 0.6% | 1,035 | Tightening |
| Canberra | 1.8% | 1,086 | Easing — loosest capital |
| Darwin | 0.3% | 67 | Flat — tightest capital |
| Hobart | 0.6% | 162 | Tightening |
| National | 1.3% | 40,771 | Rate flat, count up |
Source: SQM Research National Vacancy Rates, July 2026 data (released 13 August 2026).
The Trend
Where is vacancy heading?
After tightening through 2025 to a cycle low of 1.0% in March 2026, vacancy rose through autumn and winter (April 1.2%, June 1.3%) and held at 1.3% in July — the headline easing has paused, though the vacancy count is still climbing month by month. It remains a return to year-ago levels, not an oversupply. The balanced-market band is typically cited at 2.5–3.5%; the national rate sits at roughly half the lower bound.
National Vacancy Rate — Trend
National vacancy rate (line) and total vacant dwellings (bars). Vacancy bottomed at 1.0% in March 2026, rose through winter and held at 1.3% in July — though the dwelling count has climbed every month since the low. Note the horizontal axis is not continuous — August 2025 to February 2026 is omitted.
Source: SQM Research, National Vacancy Rates bulletin, July 2026 data (released 13 August 2026). Earlier readings from SQM's prior monthly bulletins.
The easing is demand-side — softer migration-driven demand and rental-affordability ceilings in the eastern capitals — rather than a wave of new supply. That distinction matters for how much weight to put on the trend continuing: demand-side easing is reversible, while supply-side easing is durable.
Asking Rents
National asking rents rose +7.2% over the year to mid-August 2026, with monthly growth slowing to +0.2% — possibly the usual winter lull, per SQM. The composition has flipped since autumn: units (+7.7% year-on-year) now outrun houses (+6.8%), and house asking rents actually fell 0.6% over the month.
Annual Asking-Rent Growth by City — 12 Months to August 2026
Combined (houses and units) asking-rent growth. Darwin and Hobart lead with double-digit growth; Adelaide is the softest capital at +3.5%. The national reading is shown in amber.
Source: SQM Research, National Vacancy Rates bulletin, July 2026 data (released 13 August 2026). SQM Weekly Rents Index, combined houses and units, week ending 12 August 2026.
| Market | Weekly asking rent | 30-day | 12-month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $913.79 | –0.5% | +6.3% |
| Melbourne | $695.20 | +0.2% | +6.0% |
| Brisbane | $756.11 | +1.0% | +8.3% |
| Perth | $803.75 | +0.9% | +6.6% |
| Adelaide | $641.75 | –0.3% | +3.5% |
| Canberra | $705.38 | –1.0% | +5.4% |
| Darwin | $742.54 | +2.0% | +14.1% |
| Hobart | $616.93 | +1.6% | +12.2% |
| National | $698.45 | +0.2% | +7.2% |
Source: SQM Research Weekly Asking Rents Index, week ending 12 July 2026.
Pro tip
Asking rents measure new listings, not rents paid across the whole stock — they lead broader rent measures by roughly 6–12 months. Darwin's +14.1% and Hobart's +12.2% are the kind of prints that rarely sustain; budget on trend growth, not the peak. And note Adelaide: 0.6% vacancy yet just +3.5% rent growth — tight vacancy sets a floor under rents, not the growth rate.
What This Means for Investors — Our Analysis
- The national average now describes no actual market. A 1.3% built from Canberra at 1.8% and Darwin at 0.3% is an artefact. Three capitals are easing (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra); five have effectively zero slack (Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart). Underwrite each purchase on its own city's rate.
- It is still a landlord's market everywhere. Five capitals are below 1% vacancy and none is above 1.8% — all far short of the 2.5–3.5% balanced band. Rising vacancy off these levels means slower rent growth, not falling rents.
- Sydney and Melbourne are the counter-cyclical setup. Prices falling (per both major price indices) while rents grow 6–8% annually is expanding gross yields in exactly the two markets where buyer leverage is strongest. Melbourne — tighter vacancy than a year ago with falling prices — is the standout. Run the numbers with our rental yield calculator.
- Stress-test eastern-capital purchases with extra vacancy allowance. If the easing trend runs, allow an extra 2–3 weeks' vacancy per year in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra cash-flow models. In Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Hobart and Brisbane, vacancy risk remains near cyclical lows.
Monthly Editions — Full Analysis Archive
Each month we publish a full investor deep-dive on the SQM release. The tracker above always carries the latest figures.
Rate flat, count climbing to 40,771. Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra ease while Adelaide tightens to 0.6% — vacancy now tracks the price map.
Third rise in four months, but only half the country is easing — a two-speed rental market.
1.2% / 37,844 dwellings — flat between April's turn and June's confirmation. Covered as a data point in the June edition.
Vacancy up to 1.2% (35,258 dwellings) — the first rise after a year of tightening.
The tightest national reading in ~12 months: 1.0%, 31,732 vacant dwellings.
Methodology
How SQM Research measures vacancy: SQM counts online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more (tracked across the major portals) and compares them with the total number of established rental properties in each market. The three-week threshold excludes normal tenant-changeover churn, so a “vacant dwelling” here is a rental that has failed to lease. Data runs monthly from 2005. Release timing: mid-month, covering the prior month (July data released 13 August). SQM also publishes a weekly asking-rents index alongside.
Caveats worth knowing: figures are point-in-time monthly readings, not seasonally adjusted; off-market rentals, informal sub-leases and short-stay stock are excluded, so true availability can be marginally understated in small markets; and SQM's listings-based method reads slightly tighter or looser than survey-based measures (Cotality's June estimate was ~1.5–1.6% on a different method) — compare trend against trend, not level against level.
Sources
- SQM Research, National Vacancy Rates — July 2026 data, released 13 August 2026 — sqmresearch.com.au
- SQM Research, Weekly Asking Rents Index — week ending 12 August 2026
- SQM Research, National Vacancy Rates — April 2026 data (released 12 May 2026) and March 2026 data (released 15 April 2026)
- Cotality, Home Value Index, June 2026 — price cross-references via our Home Value Index Tracker
Frequently Asked Questions
Below about 2% is considered a landlord's market — tenants compete for stock and rents rise. A range of 2.5–3.5% is roughly balanced, and above that tenants gain the upper hand. As at July 2026, every Australian capital city sits in landlord's-market territory, and five capitals are below 1%.
SQM Research publishes its National Vacancy Rates bulletin mid-month, every month, covering the prior month — the August 2026 data is expected around mid-September 2026. This tracker is updated within days of each release.
Different methods. SQM counts online listings advertised for three weeks or more against total rental stock; other providers use different listing windows or survey approaches, so the levels differ while the trends generally agree. SQM's series is the longest-running listings-based measure, with data from 2005.
Off a 1.0–1.3% base, rising vacancy signals slowing rent growth rather than falling rents. The practical effect at current levels is longer letting periods in the easing capitals — measured in weeks, not months.
The national residential vacancy rate was 1.3% in July 2026 — 40,771 vacant dwellings — unchanged from June's rate but with the vacancy count still climbing, per SQM Research. Every capital remains below 2% and five are below 1%.
The Bottom Line
Australia's rental market has passed its tightest point: vacancy bottomed at 1.0% in March 2026 and has settled at 1.3%, where it held in July even as the vacancy count kept climbing. With every capital below 2%, five below 1%, and asking rents up 7.2% year-on-year, this is an easing within a landlord's market — not a turn against landlords. The investment story is the split: vacancy is rising exactly where prices are falling (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra) and tightening where they have held (Adelaide, Hobart) — the vacancy map now tracks the price map. The next test is the August data (due mid-September), the first mostly-post-LRBA-ban month.
Disclaimer
This page is general information only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Consider your circumstances and seek professional advice before acting.
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