Media Release
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria Ltd
Telephone (03) 9205 6666
ABN 81 004 210 897
Friday 23 January 2009
Rental homes hard to find in Victoria
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that the REIV December rental vacancy report showed that 2008
ended the way it started for renters with the vacancy rate at around 1% for most of the year.
Mr Raimondo said the Melbourne rental vacancy rate for December was 1.2 per cent, up slightly from
November when it was 1.1 per cent.
“With interest rates dropping substantially over the past few months and house price growth slowing
should make conditions easier for renters who are contemplating the move to buying a home.
“REIV research shows that within Melbourne area, the inner city was once again the most difficult
place to find a rental property with a vacancy rate of 1 per cent for property within 10km of the CBD.
“The rental market is considered to be in balance when the vacancy rate is around three per cent and
it has now been below this for almost four years. The last time the vacancy rate was above three per
cent was in January 2005 and the last time it was above two per cent was December 2005.
“The situation is similar in key regional centers, in Geelong the vacancy rate is 1.5 per cent, in
Bendigo it is 1 per cent and in Ballarat it is 1.2 per cent,” Mr Raimondo concluded.
Dec
Nov
Oct
Dec
2008
2008
2008
2007
MELBOURNE Inner (0-4km)
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
Inner (4-10km)
1.0
1.3
1.2
1.3
Inner Total
1.0
1.3
1.2
1.2
Middle
1.6
1.1
1.4
1.7
Outer
1.1
0.7
0.7
2.2
MELBOURNE TOTAL
1.2
1.1
1.2
1.6
GEELONG, REGION & BARWON
1.5
1.7
1.6
1.5
BENDIGO & LODDON
1.0
1.2
0.9
2.4
BALLARAT & CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
1.2
1.7
0.8
1.2
REGIONAL VICTORIA TOTAL
1.6
2.0
1.5
1.9
VICTORIA TOTAL
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.7
MEDIA COMMENT:
Chief Executive Officer: Enzo Raimondo, 9205 6666 or 0412 252 752.
CPR Communications and Public Relations, Robert Larocca, 9654 4799 or 0409 198 350
NEWS 
