The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president John Cunningham said the April 2017 REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey indicated that in the Illawarra, vacancy rates slipped 0.1 per cent to 1.4 per cent, despite a rise of 0.1 per cent to 1.3 per cent in Wollongong.

Meanwhile, the Sydney metropolitan area remained steady at 1.7 per cent.

The South Coast fell 0.2 per cent to 1.2 per cent.

The Hunter rose 0.3 per cent to 2.3 per cent, largely due to an increase of 0.3 per cent in Newcastle to 2.3 per cent.

Mr Cunningham said it was a “very minor, marginal” increase for the Illawarra. 

“It’s probably a seasonal thing,” he said.

“This is a time of year where particularly in that region, where stability is the core. You’ve got the university people locked in play, most employment opportunities are locked in.

“So there’s not going to be a lot of fluctuation in that area. There’s no major infrastructure programs going on to fluctuate that. 

“Supply and demand is relatively stable, even though those numbers are relatively low across the board, particularly when you look at it from the perspective of the whole state.

“The Illawarra’s always had very low vacancy rates, which means it’s always in high demand.”

Mr Cunningham said any figure below two per cent meant an area has higher demand and lower supply. 

“Two per cent is almost like a benchmark that the industry has known for some time,” he said.

“It equates to me as a good balance between supply and demand.

“When you get less than two per cent, it means that your demand is higher than your supply.

“So that puts upward pressure on rents, because there’s more competition per property between tenants, and less choice for tenants to choose properties.”