Low vacancy rates are continuing to drive rents higher across most markets.

The latest My Housing Market rent report says that during the month of March, Darwin rents are up by 5.5%. Darwin now has the second-highest median asking rent for houses of $793, after Sydney which is up 2.5% over the month to $820 per week.

Unit rents rose the most in Hobart during March – up 6.6% to $525 per week, while Sydney is up 1.9% to $800 per week.

Chief Economist for My Housing Market, Dr Andrew Wilson, says Perth, Hobart and Brisbane continue to report solid annual increases in house rents while the unit rents over the past 12 months generally increased solidly across all capital cities.

Melbourne is the only capital city to record a decrease in rents with both its house and unit asking rents down by 0.4% and 1.7% in the past 12 months.

“Ongoing low and falling vacancy rates are set to generate consistently higher rents with signs continuing to emerge over March,” Wilson says.