Inside South East Queensland’s Rental Squeeze: What the Vacancy Data Is Telling Buyers in 2026
South East Queensland Rental Supply Watch — May 2026 Edition
About this series: This is the first instalment of a monthly market tracker I’ll be publishing across the next 12 to 18 months. Each month I monitor the rental vacancy rates across the same thirty South East Queensland suburbs so we can watch, in real time, how supply is shifting and what it means for buyers, investors and tenants. The figures below reflect the latest data available as at May 2026, with the trend lines drawn from January through May. Check back every month as the picture evolves.
As a buyer’s agent working across South East Queensland every day, the single question I am asked more than any other right now is some version of: “Is the rental crunch real, or is it media hype?” My answer is always the same, let the data speak. So this month I tracked the rental vacancy rates across thirty suburbs spanning Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, the Redlands, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, from January through to May 2026. The picture that emerged is unambiguous: South East Queensland is still firmly in the grip of one of the tightest rental markets this region has ever seen.
What a Vacancy Rate Actually Tells You
Before diving into the numbers, it is worth a quick reminder of why this metric matters so much to property investors and buyers. The vacancy rate is simply the proportion of rental properties sitting empty and available at any given time. The industry generally regards around 3.0% as a “balanced” market, enough churn that tenants have choice and landlords have to compete. Below roughly 2.0%, the market tips firmly in the landlord’s favour, and upward pressure on rents becomes almost inevitable. Below 1.0%, you are looking at a genuine shortage, where well-presented properties are leased within days and tenants routinely offer above the asking rent to secure a home.
Keep that benchmark in mind, because almost every suburb I tracked is sitting well under it.
The Headline: A Region Running on Empty
Across the thirty suburbs, the overwhelming majority recorded a vacancy rate at or below 1.0% in their most recent reading. That is not a localised pocket of tightness, it is region-wide, stretching from inner-Brisbane apartment markets all the way out to the affordable growth corridors of Ipswich and Logan and up to the Sunshine Coast.
The tightest markets of all were extraordinary. Nundah in Brisbane’s north and Ipswich’s CBD both sat at just 0.3%, with Logan Central at 0.4%, and Newstead and Strathpine at 0.5%. To put that in perspective, a 0.3% vacancy rate means that for every thousand rental homes, only three are available at any moment. For tenants, that is brutal. For investors and landlords, it is about as strong a position as the market can offer.
At the looser end of the spectrum, and “looser” is relative here, sat Indooroopilly at 2.6%, Carindale at 2.1%, Springfield Lakes at 2.0% and Burleigh Heads at 1.9%. It is no coincidence that these tend to be higher-priced, unit-heavy or master-planned areas where there is simply more stock turning over at any one time. Even so, all four remain at or below the 3.0% balanced-market line.
Here is the full snapshot of where each of the thirty suburbs landed on its most recent reading, now alongside the latest median weekly rent for both houses and units in each suburb:
| Suburb | Council Region | Latest Vacancy Rate | Median House Rent (p/w) | Median Unit Rent (p/w) |
| Nundah | Brisbane City | 0.3% | $750 | $650 |
| Ipswich (CBD) | Ipswich City | 0.3% | $550 | $388 |
| Logan Central | Logan City | 0.4% | $590 | $420 |
| Newstead | Brisbane City | 0.5% | $850 | $560 |
| Strathpine | Moreton Bay | 0.5% | $650 | $545 |
| Springwood | Logan City | 0.6% | $700 | $520 |
| Beenleigh | Logan City | 0.6% | $600 | $495 |
| Redcliffe | Moreton Bay | 0.6% | $650 | $590 |
| Mount Gravatt | Brisbane City | 0.7% | $745 | $670 |
| Goodna | Ipswich City | 0.7% | $580 | $475 |
| North Lakes | Moreton Bay | 0.7% | $690 | $630 |
| Capalaba | Redland City | 0.7% | $693 | $560 |
| Southport | Gold Coast | 0.7% | $850 | $700 |
| Maroochydore | Sunshine Coast | 0.7% | $880 | $720 |
| Nambour | Sunshine Coast | 0.7% | $698 | $570 |
| Cleveland | Redland City | 0.8% | $800 | $630 |
| Wynnum | Brisbane City | 0.9% | $725 | $630 |
| West End | Brisbane City | 1.0% | $950 | $773 |
| Chermside | Brisbane City | 1.0% | $680 | $650 |
| Redbank Plains | Ipswich City | 1.0% | $600 | $490 |
| Robina | Gold Coast | 1.0% | $1,000 | $850 |
| Forest Lake | Brisbane City | 1.1% | $650 | $550 |
| Marsden | Logan City | 1.1% | $625 | $530 |
| Caloundra | Sunshine Coast | 1.1% | $730 | $680 |
| Caboolture | Moreton Bay | 1.3% | $650 | $500 |
| Coomera | Gold Coast | 1.3% | $800 | $700 |
| Burleigh Heads | Gold Coast | 1.9% | $1,275 | $900 |
| Springfield Lakes | Ipswich City | 2.0% | $660 | $600 |
| Carindale | Brisbane City | 2.1% | $900 | $775 |
| Indooroopilly | Brisbane City | 2.6% | $895 | $720 |
Median weekly rents reflect the latest available readings (predominantly the twelve months to mid-2026) and are drawn chiefly from realestate.com.au and Domain suburb profiles, with a small number from RentSmart, OpenAgent and PropertyValue. Houses and units are reported separately because they behave as distinct sub-markets; figures are indicative guides rather than precise valuations.
Layering median rents over the vacancy data sharpens the picture considerably, because price and scarcity do not always move in lockstep. The clear lesson is that an extremely tight vacancy rate does not automatically signal an expensive suburb, and an expensive suburb is not always the tightest.
The most affordable entry points among the thirty all cluster in the western growth corridors of Ipswich and Logan. Ipswich CBD records the lowest unit rent on the list at $388 a week, despite holding the equal-tightest vacancy rate in the entire study at 0.3%. Logan Central ($420 for units, $590 for houses) and Goodna ($475 for units, $580 for houses) tell a near-identical story: rock-bottom availability paired with rents that remain genuinely accessible. For investors chasing yield rather than prestige, this combination of low price and minimal competing stock is the standout theme of the data.
At the premium end, the coastal and blue-chip markets command the highest rents. Burleigh Heads tops the table by a clear margin at $1,275 a week for houses and $900 for units, followed by Robina at $1,000 for houses. Inner-Brisbane lifestyle suburbs sit close behind, with West End at $950 and Newstead, Carindale and Indooroopilly all clustered around the $850 to $900 mark for houses. Notably, Indooroopilly carries the loosest vacancy rate in the study (2.6%) yet still commands a $895 house rent, a reminder that a unit-heavy university catchment can offer choice and a premium price tag at the same time.
The middle ground is occupied by the established middle-ring and bayside suburbs, the likes of Mount Gravatt ($745 houses), Wynnum ($725), Caloundra ($730) and Cleveland ($800), where solid rents meet sub-1% availability. For many buyers this band represents the sweet spot: rents strong enough to support holding costs, demand deep enough to keep the property leased, and price points more attainable than the trophy coastal markets.
A single month’s figure is a photograph; the monthly trend is the movie, and that is where the real insight lives. For a number of suburbs I was able to track the full month-by-month movement from January through May, and the direction of travel matters enormously for anyone weighing up a purchase.
Several suburbs tightened as the year progressed, meaning availability shrank and the landlord’s hand strengthened. North Lakes drifted down from 0.9% in January to 0.7% by May. Mount Gravatt moved from 0.9% to 0.7% over the same window. Most dramatic of all was Capalaba in the Redlands, which began the year with relatively comfortable availability around 2.1% and tightened sharply to just 0.7% by May — a striking compression that tells me demand there is accelerating faster than supply can respond. Caboolture told a similar story, easing off a February peak of 2.4% to settle at 1.3% by May.
Not every market moved the same way. Indooroopilly ran against the grain, easing steadily from 1.6% back in December 2025 up to 2.6% by May. This is exactly the kind of nuance that a regional headline number hides, a university-catchment, unit-heavy suburb can loosen even while the suburbs around it tighten. Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast was the picture of stability, hovering between 0.5% and 0.7% across the whole period.
The lesson here is one I repeat to every client: the regional average is a starting point, never a conclusion. Within a single council area you can find one suburb tightening and its neighbour easing in the very same month.
For investors, persistently sub-1% vacancy rates are about as strong a fundamental as you will find. Properties lease quickly, rental income is dependable, and the scarcity underpins ongoing rent growth. The suburbs sitting at 0.3% to 0.5%, Nundah, Ipswich CBD, Logan Central, Newstead, Strathpine, are the standouts on this measure, combining genuine tenant demand with minimal competing supply.
But a tight vacancy rate is only one piece of the puzzle, and chasing the lowest number is not a strategy on its own. Suburbs with very low stock can also be volatile month to month, and a 0.3% reading does not automatically translate into the strongest capital growth or the best yield. The slightly “looser” suburbs such as Indooroopilly, Carindale and Springfield Lakes still sit within a healthy range and may offer better value entry points, more stock to choose from, and stronger long-term growth drivers.
This is precisely where independent, on-the-ground advice earns its keep. The vacancy data tells you where the pressure is; understanding why, and whether a given suburb fits your specific budget, strategy and timeline, is the work of a good buyer’s agent.
The numbers from January to May 2026, the most recent being this May 2026 snapshot, confirm what I am seeing in the field every week: South East Queensland’s rental market is exceptionally tight, and the squeeze is broad-based rather than confined to a handful of trophy suburbs. For tenants, conditions remain genuinely difficult. For buyers and investors who get their suburb selection right, the fundamentals are as compelling as they have been in years, provided the decision is grounded in data rather than headlines.
This is the May 2026 edition. I’ll be back next month with a fresh read on all thirty suburbs, so you can track exactly how South East Queensland’s rental supply is moving over the year ahead. Follow along to stay in front of the market.
This article is based on the best-available published rental vacancy data for thirty South East Queensland suburbs over the period January to May 2026, drawn from sources including SQM Research, HtAG Analytics, Suburbtrends, PRD, REIQ and others. Vacancy figures can vary in definition between providers and can be volatile in low-stock suburbs; the figures here are intended as a market guide and not as personal financial advice. Always seek tailored advice for your individual circumstances before making a property decision.