This week we were engaged in a discussion with some industry peers around the need to consider more than just the dollar value when setting rent for an investment property. Below, we share a real-world example of the outcome of an investor seeking high rent above other considerations, and the avoidable results of this approach. 

In the process we introduce the 3-Way Balance of Setting The Ideal Rent. 

Back in September 2020, we wrote a number of articles sharing data specific to Newcastle and Lake Macquarie investment property, which showed how people were relocating to regional areas away from capital cities. Those changes were cited at the time as resulting in driving house price growth and low rental vacancy rates in regional areas.

Now, a full year later, fresh research continues to emerge showing that this trend is lasting - great news for investors in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region!

In this post we summarise the latest research and data highlighting the impacts of regional migration on rental vacancy rates and housing affordability across the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region. The findings are remarkably similar to our article 12 months ago. 

We've all seen property prices skyrocket post-COVID, particularly in regional areas such as Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. Exodus from capital cities, increase in numbers of people working from home, and a desire to live somewhere with more space and a greater lifestyle has all been part of this shift. 

In this post, we detail what this shift to the regions - specifically to the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area - has had on two primary measures of the rental market: rental vacancy rates and weekly rental amounts.

We take a look at how these two measures have changed over the past 12 months across the following broad areas of the region, to provide a snapshot to answer the question "How's the market?":

• Adamstown, Adamstown Heights, Garden Suburb, Highfields, Kotara (Postcode 2289)
• Cameron Park, Cardiff, Cardiff Heights, Cardiff South, Edgeworth, Glendale, Macquarie Hills (Postcode 2285)
• Charlestown, Dudley, Gateshead, Hillsborough, Kahibah, Mount Hutton, Redhead, Tingira Heights, Whitebridge (Postcode 2290)
• Merewether, Merewether Heights, The Junction (Postcode 2291)
• New Lambton, New Lambton Heights, Kotara East (Postcode 2305)

The current rental market across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie is running hot. We have been writing for months now about low rental vacancy rates across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and the impacts this has on driving house prices and rents upwards. 

As in basic economics, as supply decreases and demand increases, prices increase with demand. The thinking of "my property is worth what someone will pay for it", while true, can have more significant consequences. 

In this article we provide an overview from a property management perspective of what is happening right now for renters across the region, our frank opinion on the exploitative nature of some rental asking prices, and the impact this is having. 

Back in September and October 2020, we highlighted data which showed Lake Macquarie East had the lowest rental vacancy rates in the entire country (as at end of Sept 2020). We also commented on research showing that people are relocating to regional areas away from capital cities, which is in turn helping to drive house price growth and lower vacancy rates in regional areas.

Now, thanks to data provided by SuburbTrends, we have a remarkable visualisation which shows - in just 30 seconds (!) - the changes in vacancy rates among capital cities and regions over the past 24 months.