Signs that rental prices for homes in Tasmania have snapped a rising trend have emerged in the latest PropTrack report for the three months to the end of December.
Director of Economic Research Cameron Kusher found the median rental in Hobart for the quarter was unchanged at $500 a week.
“Right across the country and in Hobart there’s been a slowdown in rental growth in the final quarter, both houses and units saw no change in rent,” he said.
“That’s after house rents were up 8 per cent in 2022 and unit rents were up 7.1 per cent for Hobart.”
Rent value growth jumped notably across regional Tasmanian dwellings in the December quarter, to 3.0%. This was up from 0.3% in the September quarter.
While this relatively small market may show more volatility in growth rates, Tasmania has also seen a strong surge in net overseas migration post pandemic travel restrictions, which may be pushing rental demand higher.
The state saw an additional 2,745 people arrive from overseas in the year to June 2022, higher than the pre-COVID five-year average of 2,325.
“It is not entirely clear whether the rental market will continue inching toward a turning point, or if this is a temporary, seasonal reprieve due to higher new listings through December,” said report author Eliza Owen.
“New advertised rent listings saw a seasonal peak in the four weeks to December 11th. Through this period, 50,867 new advertised rental listings were counted by CoreLogic, which is the highest volume observed since mid-February, another seasonal high point.”
