Well, here we are again- another lockdown in Victoria and the rental market seems to be pivoting once again into the unknown.

While it seems that enquiry level is up, potential tenants are feeling confident that this is their time to find a bargain and make sure that their next property ticks every box on their list.

We’re experiencing negotiation from tenants that we haven’t seen in the past, with tenants offering less money per week for longer lease terms, requesting additional items such as heaters/coolers & renovations and really taking the time to consider all their options knowing that we as agents, are feeling the pinch in more ways than one.

As always, we are aiming to get the best possible outcomes for our landlords, however we all have to be realistic about this lockdown as ask ourselves; What happens next?, are we going to go back to ‘normal’? Are we going into Stage 4? Will Melbourne’s rental market ever recover to what we have seen in the past? The answers are all a conclusive “who knows?!” What we do know, is that for now we all need to work together and find the best outcomes for landlord, tenant & agents alike.

As for rental prices, we’ve seen a substantial drop in our more saturated suburbs and those suburbs that are generally heavily populated by students or travelers, this is purely due to a supply & demand issue in the Melbourne Metropolitan area. With more and more Air BnB style properties transitioning into long-term rentals, and we suspect more to come- especially with speculation of the AFL Grand Final shifting locations, we don’t believe we can see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet.

For properties in less populated suburbs; we’re seeing rents staying stable and a lot of landlords holding strong & not dropping their prices in the hopes that we’ll be out the other end of this soon enough.

We’ve seen a lot of tenants opt for a periodic lease, rather that fixed term agreements in light of the current situation. Tenants that we’ve spoken to have suggested that they’re all looking for a “Sea Change” if things don’t improve in Melbourne, looking for backyards for their kids to run around in, extra rooms to convert into studies and garages to turn into home gyms and just overall more space to live in their homes, noting that a lot of tenants get swept up in the location of their properties for whatever reason and this lockdown has sparked the notion that location may not be everything and they’d prefer to be a bit further out of the city and have the space to roam free!

Get in touch with our rentals devision to see how we can help with your property management needs.