According to statistics from Australian Property Monitor (APM), the median rental yields for units in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane fell in the June 2009 quarter.
According to the series, housing rentals also experienced zero growth across most of the major cities. Darwin was the only state to experience strong growth in rental costs, with house and unit weekly asking rents now the highest in the country at $500 for houses and $430 for units.
"In Darwin, rents have increased by 7.5% in the June quarter. This is due to a much more resilient employment market which, in turn, is underpinned by strong infrastructure spending by the private sector and the federal government in the Territory,” senior economist Matthew Bell said. However despite the rental growth in Darwin, Bell said the first half of 2009 has tended to favour renters over home owners.
“Since the March Quarter, unemployment has risen further, reducing the overall ability of renters to afford increases, while mortgage costs have remained at historic lows for landlords.
With unemployment forecast to continue rising well into 2010, the First Home Owners Boost in place until December, and variable interest rates predicted to fall by another 0.5%, the market is expected to favour renters for some time.”
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