What Is The Best Time Of Year To List Your Property For Rent?
When should you list your Brisbane investment property for rent?
Is there a good (or bad) time of the year to do it? You don’t always get to choose. After all, tenants move on at different times, for all sorts of reasons. But, in an ideal world, here is what the data says.
When is the Brisbane rental market at its busiest?
The beginning of the year is the busiest time in the Brisbane rental market. Data from SQM Research shows that vacancy rates tend to peak, or briefly spike, in December. Typically, rental listings peak, and vacancy rates plummet in mid-January. With Christmas and holidays out of the way, tenants are on the move, looking to get settled into a new home before the start of the school or university year or before work ramps back up.
A quick look at the rental cycle explains why there is so much activity in January and February. To avoid incurring financial penalties for breaking a lease, most tenants wait until their current lease is up before moving to a new rental home. And because twelve months is a common lease duration, while many leases are starting in January or February, many are ending then too, leading to a rise in the number of tenants looking for a new home.
The second peak in the rental market occurs mid-year, between June and August when six- or 18-month tenancy agreements are coming to an end. The number of rental listings has another, albeit smaller, increase at this time of year.
Is this a good time of year to list my property for rent?
The advantage of listing your property for rent during one of these two busy times is that there is likely to be plenty of tenants on the hunt for their next rental home. The downside is that your property will face more competition from other homes on the rental market.
Regardless of the time of year, the ideal scenario is to have your new tenant moving in as soon as possible after your current tenant moves out to keep vacant periods to a minimum. This will make all the difference to your rental yield.
When is the Brisbane rental market at its quietest?
Just as with many industries and businesses, the traditional holiday periods of Easter, Christmas and school holidays are often quiet in the rental market.
From the January and February peak, the number of rental listings tends to slowly decline until it reaches a low around Easter. Vacancy rates will also often rise slightly at this time. They then tend to remain more or less steady, with only slight fluctuations, until December. That’s when vacancy rates traditionally peak, as people focus on relaxation, holidays and family time until the new year comes around and the market moves back into its busiest period.
Is this a bad time of year to list my property for rent?
While it’s possible to find new tenants at any time of the year, it may take longer during quiet periods like the holidays, and if your property is vacant, it could end up costing you in lost rent. One tactic to avoid having an empty property at an inconvenient time of year is to set up your current tenants’ lease to end at a favourable time of year. Leases don’t have to be standard six- or twelve-month durations – they can last for any number of months. This can be useful for tenants, too, as they’ll find themselves with more options for a new home at a busier time of year.
Make the most of your property’s features
Another factor to consider is your property’s unique attributes, location, and the time of year they’re at their best. For example, a property with a pool might be particularly sought-after coming into the warmer months, or a home bathed in northerly sun or featuring a fireplace could be extra appealing to would-be tenants in autumn or winter.
What’s happening in the Brisbane rental market now?
As we approach the end of the year, we’re also coming up to the time when vacancy rates traditionally rise around Christmas. However, this year and last have been far from traditional, and vacancy rates haven’t followed their usual course.
Coinciding with the first COVID lockdown, vacancy rates spiked in April 2020 as owners of short-term rentals listed their properties on the long-term rental market, but in the 12 months after, they were in decline. They hit a low of 1.3% in May this year and have hovered around 1.3% or 1.4% ever since. Brisbane’s vacancy rates haven’t been this low since 2007. The number of rental listings in 2021 has also been at its lowest since 2013. These tight conditions have been driven in part by the influx of new residents from the southern states, while the supply of new rental homes hasn’t kept up.
It’s all good news for landlords looking to list their investment properties for rent. With vacancy rates and rental listings still at multi-year lows, demand from tenants is high and rental homes are being snapped up quickly.
Our team has a wealth of experience finding quality tenants at all times of the year. If you’re looking for specialist property management for your Brisbane investment property, contact us today.
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