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The Darwin rental market remained stable in December. Picture: Fia Walsh

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Darwin has begun 2024 with the highest capital city vacancy rate in the country even as rental prices trend up.

The latest PropTrack Market Insight report showed the Darwin vacancy rate remained stable in December, holding at 2.65 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist and report author Eleanor Creagh said Darwin’s rental market conditions had “improved slightly” across 2023.

“Over the quarter, the vacancy rate in Darwin was up 0.87 percentage points, the biggest uptick among the capital cities,” she said.

“Darwin’s rental vacancy rate also increased 0.55 percentage points across 2023.

“Still, Darwin’s rental market is much tighter than pre-pandemic.

“The vacancy rate declined 42 per cent compared to March 2020.”

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh. Photo: Supplied

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Regional NT saw the greatest vacancy increase in the country in December, up 0.48 percentage points month-on-month to 2.79 per cent.

The vacancy rate was also up 0.66 percentage points for the year.

The PropTrack data showed the median rent in Darwin was $590 per week, up 0.9 per cent for the December quarter and 1.7 per cent for the year.

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The average house rent was $660 per week, up 1.5 per cent in the last three months of 2023 and 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

The medium unit rent was $550 per week, up 1.9 per cent for the quarter and 3.8 per cent for the year.

In regional NT, the average cost of a rental property increased 1 per cent in 2023 to $500 per week.

House rents were up 3.6 per cent for the year to $580 and unit rents were up 6 per cent in the same time to $445 per week.

The property at 9 Croker Street, Nakara, is newly for rent for $590 per week. Picture: realestate.com.au

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Ms Creagh said nationally, rental markets remained tight despite some easing in December.

“Melbourne experienced the greatest tightening in conditions of any market in 2023 as vacancies declined 0.33 percentage points throughout the year, followed by Sydney and regional Queensland,” she said.

“Low rental vacancy rates are indicative of tight rental markets, with tenants competing for limited stock.”

Ms Creagh said these conditions made it difficult for many to find an available rental property and drove strong price growth throughout 2023.

“Many tenants are likely to be spending an increasing portion of their income on rent, placing pressure on household budgets,” she said.

“With the number of vacant properties remaining at low levels, tenants will continue to face challenging conditions.

“However, conditions in the rental market are unlikely to deteriorate at the same pace as they did in 2022 and 2023, meaning rental prices could stabilise and increase at a slower rate than the past year.”