Vacancy Rate For Ballarat 2.6 % In February

Vacancy rates in Regional Victoria tightened to 2.1 per cent during the month of February 2015, from 2.2 previously. Of the three major regions, the vacancy rate for the Geelong region fell the most, to 3.2
per cent from 3.4 per cent for the same period and has been tightening for the past five months. The vacancy rate in the Geelong region is at its lowest level since April 2013. Vacancy rates in Bendigo and
Ballarat experienced declines as well, to 2.7 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

Over February 2015, the vacancy rate in Melbourne tightened to 3.0 per cent from 3.1 per cent in the previous month. The median rent for both houses and units in Metropolitan Melbourne remained the same at
$400 and $395 respectively during the same period.

The inner suburbs experienced a further tightening in vacancy rates to 2.9 per cent over the month, as rents for houses in the inner suburbs fell by 1.8 per cent. Both the inner (0-4km) and inner (4-10km) regions experienced decreases during the month. The vacancy rates in the inner (0-4km) region fell to 3.9 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the previous month, while the inner (4-10km) region declined to 2.7 per cent from 2.9 per cent for the same period. Median rent for the inner suburbs fell to $560 in February 2015, from $570 in the previous month.

The middle suburbs experienced a flatter rental market over the month, with vacancy rates and rents for houses remaining stable over February 2015. Although the vacancy rate remained flat at 3.5 per cent, it is 0.5 percentage points higher than its value last year (3.0 per cent).

The median rent for houses remained stable at $400 while median rent for units fell slightly by 0.4 per cent over the month. Vacant space in the outer Melbourne rental market increased, with the
vacancy rate increasing to 2.2 per cent in February 2015 from 1.9 in the previous month. The median rent for houses remained stable over the same period, with the median rent for units increasing by 0.2 per cent.