Launceston rent prices hit standstill, vacancy rates hit record low

New CoreLogic figures show values rose just 0.1 per cent in September, and 0.4 per cent in the quarter, in line with state and national trends.

Roberts Real Estate business development manager Jamie Towns said there had been a noticeable drop in inquiry and quality of applications for rental properties in the past few months.

But a rock bottom vacancy rate of 1.3 per cent, just above the record low national average of 1.1 per cent, shows securing a rental is still hard work.

RELATED: More subsidised rental properties to become available

"It's eased off in the last two months or so, we're getting the same prices but less applications," Mr Towns said.

"More often than not where you were renting it off the first open home, now a lot of properties are sitting online for two or three weeks."

The average tenant in Launceston and North-East Tasmania is paying $459 a week, while tenants in East Launceston and Legana are paying around the Hobart average of $551.

A handful of Launceston suburbs have a higher median rental than Melbourne ($495 per week), which is the cheapest of the capital cities and has a high proportion of units.

Support worker Barbara Beyer recently snapped up a West Launceston rental with her partner and son.

Ms Beyer, who had been in the same property for 12 years before its owners put it on the market, said she had been fortunate to secure a home so quickly.

"We were so lucky because it's a real battle," Ms Beyer said.

"It's a very daunting task moving house at any time, but we were just very lucky - we wrote a good profile and maybe that's why we got this place."

READ MORE: Legal action launched over council candidate's unapproved bridge

Rental prices have risen about seven per cent across Tasmania in the past year.

Labor's housing spokeswoman Ella Haddad said the combination of increased rent and stagnating wages was becoming "increasingly unworkable" for Tasmanians.

Ms Haddad said the government needed to look at a statewide pause on the entry of whole properties into the short-term accommodation market, and undertake a review of the Residential Tenancy Act, to ensure the rights of landlords and tenants were equally and adequately protected.

"There are definitely deficiencies in the Residential Tenancy Act," she said.

Government minister Madeleine Ogilvie said new housing body Homes Tasmania would address the issue of overpriced housing in the state.

"It's heartbreaking to know that there are people who cannot find a home," she said.

"Homes Tasmania is a great organisation that will be more agile and will be able to address that market demand issue."

RELATED: City dwellers cool on Launceston love affair

September saw national rental values experience their smallest monthly growth of this year.

CoreLogic research analyst Kaytlin Ezzy said record low vacancy rates made the easing something of a surprise.

"The slow down in the rate of rental growth may suggest an increasing number of prospective tenants are starting to come up against affordability constraints," she said.

"As high non-discretionary inflation, along with increasing rents, put additional stress on a renter's balance sheet, it is likely a growing number of tenants look to reform larger households or find more affordable rental options in an attempt to reduce costs."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: