Sub-one-percent vacancy is a statistic right up until you're the fortieth application on a two-bedroom unit in Wooloowin.
I had a tenant leave last month. Normal reasons, nothing dramatic. I expected a slow few weeks to refill it.
Eleven applications by day two. Sixty group inspections weren't even out of the ordinary this year, apparently, though mine didn't quite hit that. Signed a lease within the week, above the previous rent, no negotiation required on my end.
I'm not saying that to brag. It's uncomfortable, actually, watching people compete that hard for a home. But as a landlord it means something specific: the tenant risk I used to worry about, empty weeks, bad screening decisions made out of desperation, mostly isn't there right now. Different market. Different set of problems to actually think about.