NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR VALUE

Landlords, if you need another reminder of the critically important role you play in your community and in the wider picture – society at large, here are some points taken from a recent housing investment report, the State of the Market: Australian Private Rentals, launched by Real Estate Industry of Australia (REIA) and REA Group, and backed by PropTrack data.

The report addressed the key issues facing renters and investors in a market that has reached crisis levels.

The Australian private rental system continues to record extreme pressure.

Vacancy rates across the nation sit just below 1.5 per cent.

Nationally, advertised rents have been rising 6 per cent for houses and 9 per cent for units over the past year.

Renters in Australia now make up around 30 per cent of households and housing stock.

It is a very competitive rental market where people are applying on average for six rentals before securing a new rental home, and 75 per cent of successful applicants feel they had to compromise.

REIA President, Hayden Groves, points out that, typically, an Australian property investor holds a mortgage and comes from a working household.

• Investors are generally aged 35-65 years old with more 35–44-year-olds owning investment properties than 65 – 74-year-olds.
• 70 per cent of property investors only own a single investment property; and just under 20 per cent own two investment properties.
• Less than 10 per cent of all property investors own three or more properties.

It is widely accepted that rental conditions in this country are the tightest on record driven by a hefty undersupply of quality rental stock, constraints on the home construction industry, the resumption of immigrations, and a change in household formation.

We need supply to meet the growing demand.

We need more landlords, including ‘mum and dad’ investors, to provide rental stock to the one-in-three Australians that rent because they have confidence in a property investment market that comes with incentives not penalties.

We also need professional, skilled property managers who are critical to managing the growing rental sector.

Thank you for already being in this with us, and never underestimate how much you are valued.