Rental Properties Disappear

Hundreds of properties are disappearing from Australia’s rental pool.

Analysis of quarterly sales data by FoundIt shows that 5,447 rental homes were sold in May but only 3,915 new rental homes were purchased, resulting in a net loss of 1,532 rental properties during the month.

Victoria had the largest net loss of 640 rental homes, while Queensland lost 332.

FoundIt head of research Kent Lardner believes the monthly figures are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

He says that rental supply in much of Australia was already shrinking before May’s federal budget changes to how residential property investment earnings are taxed and he believes the trend will increase in the coming months.

The changes mean that investors are looking at other types of property assets, according to Burgess Rawson chief executive of commercial property auctioneer Ingrid Filmer.

She says since the federal budget she has been receiving calls from people with no residential investment properties who were looking to go straight into commercial property.