Geraldton’s rental market bounces back for September as signs point to an easing of crisis

Geraldton is leading the State’s rental market, recording the highest vacancy rate for September in a sign that the tenancy crisis may be easing. The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia’s latest regional quarterly update reveals the city’s rental vacancy rate in September was 2.3 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent in August. There are currently 51 properties available for rent in Geraldton on REIWA.com. A sign of a balanced market is a vacancy rate of 3 per cent, with Geraldton reaching a low of one per cent. The number of property sales in Geraldton were down 16.7 per cent for the quarter going from 222 to 185, consistent with the 12-month trend of a 14.7 per cent drop. Properties are also taking longer to sell, rising from 33 days in June to 45 in September, up 36.9 per cent. Prices have stagnated, with the median sale price only rising 0.3 per cent in the September quarter to $376,000. As sales decrease and houses are spending more time on the market, REIWA president Joe White said it was crucial that people continued to build new houses. “If you’re starting to build a house now, you probably got a year from signing the thing to moving into the house. But if you’re at roofing level, you’ve probably still got a year because you’re in that logjam,” he said. “So, in other words, we have to make sure that we still concentrate on the commencements, it’s one thing getting this bubble through the system, but there’s going to be life after the bubble.” Mr White said the latest vacancy rate was a positive sign for Geraldton’s rental market but stressed there were still shortages. “It’s certainly a move in the right direction. Now we consider 3 per cent to be pretty much a balanced market. So in other words, it’s still pretty tight. But it’s a hell of a lot better than what it was,” he said. Median weekly rents in Geraldton have risen 6.2 per cent in the past three months going from $365 to $388. Rental listings are down 33.3 per cent in the past year going from 33 in September 2021 to 22, based on the active listings as at the last day of the month. While other rental markets continue to struggle, Geraldton has bounced back to sit slightly ahead of Bunbury (2.0 per cent) for September. “It’s a reflection of somehow Geraldton has managed to achieve what no one else has. So, yeah, it’s a credit to Geraldton’s building industry, planning industry that they managed to actually solve this problem and direct the resources towards it,” Mr White said. “I don’t quite know what the reasons were but something happened in Geraldton that hasn’t happened anywhere else.” Listings remained steady with 1.5 per cent growth while over 12 months they have risen from 234 to 277 (18.4 per cent). The number of leased houses in September fell by 7.7 per cent, while it has dropped 26 per cent in the past year from 98 to 72. Ray White Geraldton’s Henry Vantiel said the market was still very steady with many buyers out and about looking to get into the market. “There’s some caution with interest rates of course and buyers are setting expectations a little lower so purchasing in the next price bracket down,” he said. “For example instead of paying $500,000 they may look at properties up to $400,000.”