Investing in property can be overwhelming, but it honestly isn’t rocket science.

Yes, there’s a lot to consider – if you’ve never bought a house without planning to live in it before, you might not be sure what to look for, where to buy, or what information you need to consider.

But if you’re like most of my clients, there’s one big fear holding you back.

What if you jump in, find a property to buy, get set up with a property manager, and then…your property sits vacant.

I know you don’t want to risk getting it wrong, that’s why you found my site and you’re reading about how I can help you through every stage of investing in the Australian property market – from getting your finances sorted to independent property investment recommendations that suit your needs. But there’s still that niggling fear that, after all the effort you put into securing a property, you won’t be able to find a tenant.

Believe me, this was one of my biggest fears when I bought my first property. And of course, it’s important to think about this possibility when reviewing your finances and how much you can afford to borrow or spend.

But I’m here to assure you that Australia is currently experiencing a high demand for rental properties that will continue for many years to come. Here’s why.

Building approvals are down in the current market

In early November 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures on the supply of new housing. Every time a house, unit, or block of apartments is approved, it is added to this data, and based on these figures, we can see that building approvals for the year are trending down. In fact, as of November, building approvals are down 13.8 percent from where they were at the same time in 2021.

What does this mean? Fewer houses are being built than 12 months ago.

Now, this wouldn’t be such a big deal if the demand for housing wasn’t currently so high. At a time when we should be building more, we’re building less. That’s going to create a continued pent-up demand from the current Australian population, but also from an expected influx of migrants we’ll be welcoming to the country over the next couple of years.

International students and skilled migrants need short and long-term accommodation

If you’ve started researching the property market, you’ve likely heard that the government is raising the number of people who can come into the country under skilled migrant visas, raising the cap from 160,000 to 195,000 in the 2022-2023 financial year.

This means an additional 20% more people coming into Australia, looking for short and long-term rental accommodation, than in previous years.

Consider that many skilled migrants coming into the country won’t be able to buy property until they have either secured a job or established work history. This usually means they’ll need to rent, and they may do so for a couple or even as many as 10 years before they buy a family home. They’re not just looking for a place to stay when they first move to the country, but for a decent number of years – and they could be your ideal tenant.

On top of this, international students are expected to return to Australia in droves in the aftermath of COVID-19. In the 2021-2022 program year, there were 365,004 student visa applications lodged – and 246,651 of those applications were made between January and June 2022. Around 50,656 of those student visa applications were lodged during the month of June alone, the highest in the program’s history (source: Student Visa and Temporary Graduate visa program report).

Students often want to rent for the duration of their studies, which means they could be your tenant for three or more years.

One incredible example of this impact can already be seen in Perth, where building approvals are down 30 percent year on year. Perth has historically experienced good population growth overall and gets quite a lot of migrants, and with that number set to increase in the next 12 to 24 months – while building approvals are down – the city is going to see a real rental crisis.

With my guidance, your rental property won’t be empty

I am certainly not concerned about any rental properties being vacant anytime soon.

I’ve had rental properties for more than 10 years and the longest any of them has been vacant is about a week, and that’s been in during years where there has been an oversupply of stock. A lot of this comes down to choosing the right property in the right location, and that’s where I can help you make the best decision for your needs. So, in the current market, when we’re looking at a rental crisis and a supply crisis that is only set to get worse, I don’t envision empty properties to be a concern at all.

If you’re thinking about buying a new property or a house and land package, rest assured that it will be in extremely high demand for tenants for years to come, and not only will you be able to get rent, but you’ll be able to get good rent for many years to come.

I hope that gives you some insight into what the current property market looks like in Australia, and what it’s likely to look like for at least a few years to come. With this in mind, you can be reassured that your rental property won’t sit empty [RS1] and that with the help of a good property manager, you will be able to get the price you want. And if you’d like to talk further about any of your fears about investing, or how to reduce the risks, I’m always here to offer advice.