Have Sydney's rental vacancy rates turned the corner? With a rise in the availability of properties to 2 per cent, life, while hardly easy, could be getting less stressful for renters.
Many new apartments - preferred by renters and investors - have come on to the market and a recent report by BIS Shrapnel says about 5800 units are under construction and another 11,500 will be finished over the next three years.
Experts say that will inevitably lead to an easing of the rental pressures and, ultimately, a drop in purchase prices.
However, it's not all good news. There are fears that many new properties being aggressively marketed overseas will be left empty for years. Overseas investors can legally purchase only new properties.
Sydney is not the first world city to suffer the blight of "buy-and-leave" homes. In London, where half the units in some blocks sit empty, Islington Council has proposed a $100,000 tax on new apartments that are left unoccupied, and the recent UK budget had plans to charge 15 per cent stamp duty on them.
http://smh.domain.com.au/home-renting-tips/do-we-need-a-tax-for-notenant-flats-20140922-10kamn.html
Many new apartments - preferred by renters and investors - have come on to the market and a recent report by BIS Shrapnel says about 5800 units are under construction and another 11,500 will be finished over the next three years.
Experts say that will inevitably lead to an easing of the rental pressures and, ultimately, a drop in purchase prices.
However, it's not all good news. There are fears that many new properties being aggressively marketed overseas will be left empty for years. Overseas investors can legally purchase only new properties.
Sydney is not the first world city to suffer the blight of "buy-and-leave" homes. In London, where half the units in some blocks sit empty, Islington Council has proposed a $100,000 tax on new apartments that are left unoccupied, and the recent UK budget had plans to charge 15 per cent stamp duty on them.
http://smh.domain.com.au/home-renting-tips/do-we-need-a-tax-for-notenant-flats-20140922-10kamn.html
