Keep the cash flowing in

In tough times, it pays for landlords to make an extra effort to hold onto a good tenant

- Pam Walkley

An investment property without a tenant is virtually worthless. Even if your property is valued at $1 million or more, if it’s generating no income it’s a millstone around your neck.

Attracting and keeping good tenants is the key to being a successful property investor. And that’s even more so now that Covid-19 has sparked an increase in vacancies, which is pushing rents down.

Sydney had the highest vacancy rate in the nation at 3.8% at June 30, falling 0.2% from May, followed by Melbourne with a vacancy rate of 3% and falling 0.1% in the month, according to SQM.

In the wake of this, Australia’s median rental has dropped 0.5% in three months, reversing almost two years of straight growth, according to June quarter data from CoreLogic. This is the largest quarterly drop since September 2018.

When separated by location, capital city rental prices were hit hardest, dropping by 0.7 % compared with just 0.2 % in regional centres. The Hobart market had the largest rental value falls in the June quarter, down 2.3 %, followed by Sydney (-1.3%), Melbourne (-1%) and Brisbane (-0.6%).

Covid-19 means there is not much upside for landlords, with closed international borders, job losses and reduced income all significantly reducing demand.