There have been some positive signals in Tasmania’s private rental market recently. For example, rents for houses have dropped 1% and rents for units 2% in Hobart. Hobart’s rental vacancy rate is now over 2%, significantly better than the low point of .3% we saw last year. Similar improvements to vacancy rates have been seen across the state, with our member services reporting that the rental market is opening up for tenants, especially in the northwest.
This is very good news, as around a third of the state’s households (over 40,000) are renters. The majority of Tasmanians on low and moderate incomes are living in the private rental market, which remains expensive and precarious. Read more…