DISTRESSED PROPERTY OF THE WEEK
705/9 Waterside Place, Docklands VIC 3008 Vic 3008
The price has been reduced on this modern and conveniently located apartment in Melbourne's Docklands. This two-bedroom residence with 84sqm terrace is located in the award-winning Concavo building. Light and airy, it comes with a car space and two bathrooms. You can enjoy a fully equipped gymnasium to BBQ facility, and a 25m lap pool. It could suit an investor or owner occupier keen for city living.
But is the price right? There are currently 140 properties for sale in Docklands. You can view recent sales in 3008 here. On a first look, this apartment appears to be priced with similar apartments. But ample unit supply has dented price growth in postcode 3008. Two-bedroom units have asking selling prices of $634,600 over the year to 13 April, down 2.3% over the year, and prices down by 1.3% over three years. Property listings have been trending up since 2019, adding to supply of units for sale.
Also reflecting an oversupply of rental accommodation, weekly rents have dropped 29.9% over the year to 12 April, while the vacancy rate is a huge 11.2%, though that is down from 18.8% in October last year. The gross rental yield for 3008 is currently around 3.7%. But that won't grow your wealth, so there might be further reason to haggle down the vendor given the stunted outlook for price growth over the near to medium term.
You can monitor this market and others with SQM Research’s free property data. Also, consider the SQM Property Explorer product for more in-depth data and property price estimator.
National Residential Vacancy Rate Rises in March
Rents surge in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide
by Louis Christopher, CEO
SQM Research today has revealed the national residential rental vacancy rate rose to 2.1% over the month of March 2021 from 2.0% in February. The total number of vacancies Australia-wide is now 72,436 residential properties.
The rise in vacancy rates is abnormal for March. It is the first time since 2007 vacancy rates rose for March compared to February. The rise was driven by increases in vacancies in Sydney as well as a reversal in some of the tight rental markets of regional Australia. Melbourne’s vacancy rate slipped to 4.4% in March from 4.5% in February, Elsewhere, in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, the vacancy rate was below 1.0%. Brisbane’s rate remained at 1.5% in March 2021.
SQM’s calculations of vacancies are based on online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties. SQM considers this to be a superior methodology compared to using a potentially incomplete sample of agency surveys or merely relying on raw online listings advertised. Please go to our Methodology page for more information on how SQM’s vacancies are compiled.
Over the month to 12th April 2021, capital city rents rose 1.3% for houses to $557 per week but fell 0.2% for units to $411. Reflecting rental accommodation oversupply, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents fell by 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Over the year, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents are down substantially by 12.0% and 6.5%. Melbourne house rents fell by 0.5% over the month and by 6.1% over the year to 12th April. In Sydney, house rents rose by 0.9% from a year ago.
Elsewhere, house rents rose in Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane by more than 2.0% over the month to 12th April, while unit rents also rose. Over the year, rents have shown strong growth in the smaller cities, by as high as 25.5% for houses and 11.1% for units in Darwin. Nationally, house rents rose by 14.7% while unit rents rose 6.5%, pushed up by strong growth in regional locations around Australia.
Vacancy rates remain very tight in Australia’s cities excluding Sydney and Melbourne and this is creating a surge in rents in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. However, vacancy rates for Melbourne and Sydney remain elevated. The loss of international student tenants due to COVID-19 has hit both cities hard and the ongoing high rate of dwelling completions keeps these rental markets in surplus. That said we are seeing increasing signs that the absolute worse for CBD landlords has passed.
The Melbourne CBD vacancy rate now stands at 8.3%, while the Sydney CBD vacancy rate was 6.2% in March 2021. While they are obviously still elevated, those figures are down from the double digits last year and fell again for the month of March.
Meanwhile vacancy rates rose in the Blue Mountains, North Coast NSW, Mornington Peninsula rose for the month. It may be a signal we are seeing a return of the some of the population back to the inner cities.
AUCTION RESULTS for week ending 11 April 2021
Full individual auction results can be found on our website:
AUCTION LISTINGS* for week ending 18 April 2021
* The above counts of auctions represent most recent known auction dates for the coming week.