Inner Melbourne rental market improves for landlords: CoreLogic

The number of apartments available for rent across inner Melbourne has dropped by 46 per cent since February, new data from CoreLogic shows.

CoreLogic suggested it was because of rising demand from tenants seeking affordable housing options.

It calculated inner Melbourne’s rental stock had dropped from 9439 in February to 5074 at the end of October. 

Peak listings were in November last year.

Apartments rental listings are now 23 per cent below pre-pandemic level.

One reason for the increased interest in inner city unit rentals was the price difference, CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.

Capital city house rents have surged 10 per cent during the pandemic, while unit rents are at 0.3 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels.

The average rent on an inner-city unit in Melbourne has fallen by $91 a week since March last year.

It sits 18 per cent below the pre-COVID high.

Mr Lawless said rental demand for inner-city tenancies was likely to increase further as pandemic restrictions ease, workers gradually return to work and international borders re-open.

Lawless anticipates demand for inner city unit accommodation will rise "substantially", as foreign students and international visitor numbers start to arrive in Melbourne.

The rental performance in apartments sees a similar trend in prices.

CoreLogic puts house values up 24 percent over the year across the combined capitals, rising at more than double the annual pace of apartments, which are up 11.8 per cent.

Melbourne house values rose 19 percent over the year compared with a nine percent gain in unit values.