Rentals a challenge

Little growth over year but affordable market lures southern buyers

ONCE again Queensland’s house rental yields are generally higher than New South Wales and Victoria, making our affordable market highly attractive to southern investors.

However, having said that, there has been very little growth over the past 12 months and some areas have delivered smaller yields compared with this time last year.

This is concerning and is a reflection of the fragility of the rental market in many areas throughout the state.

Brisbane LGA yields have come down from 3.6% last year to 3.3% in June this year.

Weak rental markets in much of regional Queensland, where vacancies are high, present challenging conditions and the REIQ is concerned investors may opt out of property.

In Queensland, 34% of us rent and this population is heavily reliant on the private rental market.

As would be expected, regional areas reliant on the resources sector generally delivered higher yields than other parts of the state. Rockhampton and Bundaberg offer gross yields of 5.4% and 5.3%, the highest of this group of markets.

Looking at tourism towns, the Cassowary Coast and Whitsunday offer 7.5% and 6% yields on houses.

Cairns unit investors are receiving the highest yields in the state, of 6.8%, compared with 7.5% a year ago. Bundaberg and Logan investors are receiving 6% yields on their rental properties.