Residential vacancy rates figures indicate that the Illawarra remains an area of high demand and lower supply.
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In the Illawarra, vacancy rates slipped 0.2 percentage points to 2.1 per cent with Wollongong steady at 2.2 per cent, according to the August 2017 Real Estate Institute of NSW Vacancy Rate Survey.
Vacancy rates across Sydney rose for a second month in a row despite declines in inner and outer Sydney.
REINSW deputy president Leanne Pilkington said the August REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey saw availability in the Sydney metropolitan area rise 0.1 percentage points at 2.0 per cent.
The Hunter dropped 0.4 percentage points at 1.9 per cent, despite Newcastle remaining steady at 1.6 per cent.
Ms Pilkington said recent apartment developments in the Wollongong CBD had impacted on vacancy rates.
“Outside of that, from the people that I’ve been speaking to, they’re telling me that the market’s very stable and properties don’t stay vacant long,” she said of Wollongong.
The April 2017 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.
The July 2017 survey revealed that in the Illawarra, vacancy rates slipped 0.2 percentage points to 2.3 per cent with Wollongong down 0.2 percentage points at 2.2 per cent.
Ms Pilkington said any figure below two per cent meant an area has higher demand and lower supply.
“The 2.2 (per cent in Wollongong for August) is obviously as a result of those new apartment buildings coming online, so the rest of the market is exactly where you’d like to see it,” she said.
“From what I understand those new developments are starting to lace up… It just takes a little while for that to take up. Looking at the numbers it looks like a really good market for investors.”
The August survey indicated that across regional areas, the highest vacancy rate was in the Riverina, which jumped 0.7 percentage points to 3.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the South Coast rose 0.1 percentage points at 1.7 per cent.