CoreLogic’s Quarterly Rental Review for December 2022 has some good news and some bad news for Canberra renters.

While prices slightly dropped during the December quarter, the median rental price for all combined dwellings in Canberra remains the most expensive in Australia.

Canberra’s quarterly house and unit rent values change was the weakest in the country, with house rents falling by 0.8 per cent and units declining by 0.2 per cent.

For all Canberra dwellings, the median rent sits at $681 – the highest of all capital cities – dropping by 0.1 per cent across December and 0.7 per cent over the quarter.

The median rent for houses in Canberra is currently $722 and for $582 for units.

Canberra was the only capital city to see an overall decline in the rental market over the quarter, although annually prices rose by 4.3 per cent.

The most expensive Canberra suburb to rent a house is Denman Prospect with a median price of $925 per week and the least expensive is Waramanga with a median price of $627 per week.

For units, the most expensive suburb to rent is Forrest with a median price of $687 per week and the least expensive is Scullin with a median price of $488 per week.

CoreLogic Head of Research and report author Eliza Owen commented on December marking the second consecutive quarter where the pace of growth slowed.

She said it coincided with a small lift in the rental vacancy rate to 1.17 per cent in the same month, up from 1.05 per cent in the month prior. 

Ms Owen said the decline has been led by capital cities in December, where rental prices continued to increase but at a slightly slower rate than the September and June quarters.

But tenants shouldn’t rejoice just yet, she warned.

“While a slowdown in the pace of rent rises could be a sign that the rental market is starting to shift, it’s not great news for tenants just yet,” Ms Owen said.  

“Rents are still rising in most capital cities and regional areas with vacancy rates low.”

Since September 2020, national rental values have increased by 22.2 per cent. In 2022 alone, rents increased by 10.2 per cent; a record high for annual rental growth based on CoreLogic’s 18 years of data.

The median weekly rent value across Australian dwellings during the 27-month period rose from $430 to $519 per week.

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