Canberra's rental market sees increase of listings

Airbnb hosts looking to fill empty rooms and homeowners selling prior to COVID-19 had re-entered the rental market, according to the Real Estate Institute of ACT director Hannah Gill.

Ms Gill said at the same time many international students and public servants had recently returned home, leaving more properties vacant.

Despite an increase in supply and a drop in demand, Ms Gill said she didn't anticipate a significant drop in rental prices and any decrease was unlikely to last long.

"As soon as the COVID world passes we'll start to see that demand ramp back up again," she said.

Domain data revealed an increase of more than 480 residential and commercial properties at the start of April.

According to the figures, listings in the ACT surged by 29 per cent during the last week of March compared with the previous four weeks - the second-highest in the nation after Tasmania.

Of those listings, 132 were in Canberra's inner north, 94 in the inner south, 82 in Gungahlin, 67 in Belconnen, 52 in Woden Valley, 29 in Weston Creek, and 27 in Tuggeranong.

Ms Gill said while the increase of rentals on the market had meant some were staying vacant slightly longer than usual, the situation was "certainly not dire."

"In Canberra, vacancy rates are normally next to nothing, it might now take an extra week or two to fill them," Ms Gill said.

Coronavirus safety measures which prevented open-house property viewing were adding to the slowing down of the process, Ms Gill said.

With huge residential and commercial complexes Republic in Belconnen and Marquee in Amaroo both close to completion, Ms Gill said the rental market could see a temporary price drop as even more rentals became available.

When complete, Republic will accommodate more than 2000 people while Marquee will consist of 107 residential apartment and approximately 3000 square metres of retail space.

READ MORE:

"That will create a short term spike but they're in highly sought after areas and, I expect, will be absorbed very quickly," she said.

Manuel Saulo had four Airbnb properties in Canberra up until January this year.

He said his Turner and Braddon apartments averaged around $120 a night with occupancy rates at 93 per cent in February.

Having let go of the lease on one property, Mr Saulo has been forced to begin accepting medium-term renters at almost half the weekly rental on his three remaining subleased apartments.

He said when all his bookings cancelled at the start of the month he believed he would have renters at all.

"I had to do it just to get some income," he said.

Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. If you're looking to stay up to date on COVID-19, you can also sign up for our twice-daily digest here.