The RP Data Quarterly Rental Report for June 2014 shows mixed results with house rents remaining unchanged and unit rents seeing a small rise over a six-month period since January.

RP Data's popular national quarterly rental market report shows that house rents have maintained a status quo across the combined capital cities, while rents increased by 2.4 per cent for units.

Though house and unit rents increased by 2.4 per cent annually, the vacancy rate data sourced from the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) shows a fall in rates across a majority of the capital city markets over the March quarter; Sydney recorded the lowest vacancy rates of any capital city market with just 1.4 per cent of rental properties vacant, followed by Brisbane at 2.3 per cent.

Quarterly findings:

Over the three months to June 2014, capital city rental rates have remained unchanged for houses at $430 per week, while unit rents rose by 1.2 per cent to $420 per week. Nationally, house rents rose 1.3 per cent to $400 per week, while unit rents remained steady over the quarter at $390.

City-by-city findings – Houses:

There was no change in weekly rental rates over the quarter for houses in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Canberra. However, Melbourne (-1.3 per cent), Perth (-1.0 per cent) and Hobart (-1.5 per cent) recorded a decline in weekly advertised rents over the quarter.

Rents did not increase in any city over the quarter; Adelaide (1.5 per cent) is the only city to see a rise in rents over the 2014 calendar year-to-date.

City-by-city findings – Units:

Unit rents rose in Sydney and Melbourne over the quarter, up 2.0 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively. Brisbane (-1.3 per cent) and Canberra (-2.5 per cent) both recorded a fall in rents in the same period. Rents in all remaining cities remained unchanged over the quarter.

Annual movements on a national basis:

House rents increased by 2.6 per cent over the year to June 2014, in line with the average annual growth over the past five years of 2.7 per cent. Nationally, unit rental rates remained unchanged over the year, well below the average annual five year growth of 2.8 per cent. Combined capital city rents for both houses and units increased by 2.4 per cent over the year to June 2014 - weekly rent is currently $430 for houses and $420 for units.

In the detached housing market, rents fell over the year to June in Perth (-5.0 per cent) and Canberra (-3.9 per cent), while Darwin rents remained steady over the year. All other cities recorded a rise in rental rates, with Sydney leading from the front with a 4.0 per cent rise and more moderate growth seen in Brisbane (1.3 per cent).

Perth (-5.3 per cent) and Canberra (-6.5 per cent) saw rents fall over the year to June 2014 even in the units segment, while all other capital cities recorded a rise in rental rates over the 12-month period.

According to RP Data report author Cameron Kusher, rental growth has been impacted since 2008 by a number of factors including low interest rates and low returns on other asset classes, which encouraged prospective new home owners to invest in property, easing demand for rentals.