REAL estate professionals suggested a surplus of houses on the market and drop in interest rates for prospective home buyers were the main factors influencing the gradual decrease of weekly rental prices in Busselton and surrounding areas.
Harcourts asset property management and development manager Leah Wettinger said the average rent rates had come down, especially in the past four to five weeks.
“For instance, your average four by two not so long ago was sitting around the $440 to $450 mark,” she said.
“We are now down to $420 per week.
“And the amount of enquiries coming through by tenants, that is also down as well.”
LJ Hooker Geographe Bay senior property manager Chantell Cousins said she also noticed the rental market starting to drop slightly over the past eight months.
“On average $20 to $30 per week,” she said.
“Rental properties that are three bed by two bathroom are currently achieving between $350 to $380 per week and four by two achieving between $400 to $440 per week.”
Ms Cousins said the number of tenants seeking out rentals had decreased due to opportunities for home buyers.
“We think this is due to a lot of tenants looking at purchasing a new home under the current interest rate climate,” she said.
“We do find tenant numbers do drop as we come into the winter period as well, but there are tenants still actively looking to rent.”
Ms Wettinger said a combination of more houses available on the market and less people looking for rentals had definitely affected prices in the Busselton and Dunsborough areas.
She said at the moment approximately 114 properties were advertised in Busselton for rent.
This is in line with statistics from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, which showed 118 houses listed for rent at the end of the 2016 first quarter, compared to 87 houses listed the same time last year and 93 the previous quarter (summer, 2015).
“Because they have their pick of houses in the area at the moment, we are seeing that a lot of perspective tenants are offering lower rates on their applications,” she said.
“There is so much out there for them to choose from, and I think at the moment it is just coming down to rent rates.”
Ms Wettinger said she has also seen a decrease in rental applications and an increase in the time houses have been staying on the market.
“When I did our average letting times last month, we were sitting anywhere between 40 to 45 days average letting time of a property," she said.
“It is a good time to try and get a rental property in Busselton.”
However, Ms Wettinger said home owners and investors looking to enter the rental market were at a disadvantage.
“We are getting owners who may be unable to sell their property at the moment also wanting to put it on the rental market,” she said.
“Owners who have got a four by two are expecting they are going to get about $450 per week and that is what they have been budgeting on, but we have had to advise them that they are going to have to look quite a bit lower than that.”
Ms Cousins said the lowest price for a rental on the market today is $340 per week, which would have quite a bit of an affect on people looking for lower rent rates.
“We are finding a some tenants that are looking under the $300 per week range for the lower range rentals are finding it a bit hard due to prices remaining steady at $340 and upwards.”
Have your say: Have you found it difficult to find a rental or are you struggling to find a tenant for your property? Let us know by emailing Lily at lily.yeang@fairfaxmedia.com.au.