Renters are moving closer to the city in a bid to cut down on travel times and avoid traffic congestion, according to research by property analyst Michael Matusik.
Vacancy rates for houses in inner Brisbane have tightened from 4.2 per cent to 2.5 per cent in the past year.
Apartments and townhouses in the same area have a vacancy rate of just 1.9 per cent – down from 4.2 per cent last year.
In an analysis of Queensland Rental Tenancies Authority data, Matusik Property Insights found the best performing rental suburbs for three-bedroom houses were New Farm and Teneriffe, where the median rent for a three-bedroom house jumped $60 a week to $340 a week over the past year.
Other strong performers were East Brisbane and Kangaroo Point, where the median rent rose $40 to $300 a week.
But one of the best rental performers was well out of the inner city – Jimboomba’s median rents rose $55 to $265 a week for a three-bedroom house.
Across the state, the vacancy rate for detached house was 2.5 per cent down from 3.8 per cent last year; and for attached dwellings the vacancy rate was 2.6 per cent down from 3.9 per cent in 2003.
Mr Matusik said no postcode area across southeast Queensland had had a fall in median weekly rents.
Among the worst-performing rental areas for the year for three-bedroom houses in southeast Queensland was Kippa-Ring, where the median rent remained unchanged at $220.
Capalaba, with a $230 median rent, and Mount Cotton/Redland Bay, with a median $230, were likewise unchanged.
The report said a drop in demand to rent in Brisbane’s outlying areas reflected a decline in net migration to the state over the past 12 months or so.
Net migration to Queensland has declined by 15 per cent, from 66,300 to 56,400 people in the past 12 months.
The report attributed the tight vacancy rate for apartments and townhouses to a trend of people looking for more security and less maintenance. “We believe new apartments which provide sharing tenants with complete privacy…their own bedroom, bathroom, walk-in robe space and study area, should attract a high premium,” the report said.
The best-performing areas in southeast Queensland for two-bedroom apartments included Graceville and Sherwood, with a $40 median rental increase to $210.
Mount Gravatt and Mansfield recorded a $35 increase, to $220; and Newstead and Fortitude Valley reported $30 increases in rent to $310 a week for a two bedroom property.