According to SQM Research, Sydney's rental vacancy rate fell from 1.6 per cent in July to 1.4 per cent in August, with vacancies down to 10,281.
Average weekly rents in Harbour City are rapidly moving towards the A$1,000 mark and now stand at A$977.65 per week, by far the most expensive in the country.
The national median weekly rent for houses and flats is $584.32.
SQM general manager Louis Christopher said the market had tightened again in recent months.
The main reason for the renewed tightening is likely to be the continued rapid growth of our population and the reduction in new home completions compared to 2022," he said.
Looking ahead, I expect the low rental vacancy market to be maintained," he said.
Housing construction will continue to contract in response to the housing shortage.
Unfortunately, I expect homelessness to increase significantly.
Mr Christopher said not enough houses and units were being built in Sydney and other parts of the country to meet the demand of record numbers of migrants.
He pointed to recent construction figures that show about 160,000 housing units are being built across the country between 2024 and 2029, well short of the 240,000 units needed for population growth.
This creates a housing shortage, he said.
I strongly believe that there should be a short-term cap on immigration numbers for the next two years while supply keeps up, he said.
If we limit immigration to 90,000 people over the next two years, the rental crisis will end by mid-2025 according to our modelling," he said.
The rental vacancy rate in Sydney's CBD fell back to 4.6 per cent after recording an increase in July.
Mr Christopher said that in the first half of 2023, "rental vacancy rates for tenants have picked up slightly", particularly in the regions.
Increasing tenant sharing has eased the vacancy rate to some extent, he said.
SQM's research shows rental vacancy rates fell in most regions up to August, with the NSW North Coast rate down to 1.6 per cent, but remaining steady at 1.5 per cent in the Blue Mountains.
