Regional vacancies rise and property managers carry the conversation

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Kooky

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Queensland's rental market is still tight, but in a majority of regions it has stopped tightening, and the people who feel that first are property managers. Real Estate Business reported on 31 July 2026 that vacancy rates rose in 27 of the 50 regions tracked by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland in the June quarter, while the statewide median stayed at 1.0 per cent. The trade publication's report was built around what that shift means inside a property management office: lease renewals that need more explanation, owners who hesitate over maintenance, and vacant homes that take more work to fill.

The figures themselves are the REIQ's and were published with its June quarter vacancy report. What the Real Estate Business piece adds is the view from the desk of the licensee who has to turn a statistic into a recommendation to an owner and a notice to a tenant. This article sets out the regional numbers, what managers are reported to be doing with them, and the rules that frame each of those conversations.

Source: REIQ June quarter 2026 vacancy figures as reported by Real Estate Business, 31 July 2026.

Where the vacancy rate moved most

The largest movements were in Wide Bay. According to Real Estate Business, the Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay each rose 0.7 percentage points over the quarter, to 2.2 per cent and 2.3 per cent. Working back from those figures, the Fraser Coast was at 1.5 per cent and Hervey Bay at 1.6 per cent three months earlier. Maryborough, in the same council area, rose 0.6 percentage points.

A second group moved less. Gympie, Mareeba, the Caloundra coast, the Gold Coast and the Burdekin each rose 0.4 percentage points, and the report places all five between 1 and 1.5 per cent after the rise. That is a mixed list: two coastal markets in the south-east, one hinterland town, one in the far north and one sugar district. The common thread is the direction, not the geography.

None of these readings describes a market with homes to spare. A rate of 2.3 per cent in Hervey Bay means roughly one rental in 43 was empty when the count was taken. The point for a property manager is the change. A home that would have been re-let from a single weekend of inspections a year ago may now sit for a second or third week, and every week empty is a week of rent the owner does not receive.

What managers are telling owners

The practical advice in the report comes from a senior property manager at a Hervey Bay agency, Robyn McKay of PRD Hervey Bay, who told Real Estate Business that rents in her market are starting to stabilise. Her approach at renewal, as the publication reports it, is to give an owner as much information as possible about why the rent should stay close to its present level, so that the decision is the owner's but is made with the local evidence in front of them.

That is a change of emphasis more than a change of job. While vacancy was falling, the renewal conversation was usually about how much the rent could rise. With more homes advertised, the same conversation now has to weigh a higher asking rent against the chance of the tenant leaving and the home standing empty. A manager who recommends holding the rent is not arguing against the owner's interest. They are comparing a modest increase with the cost of a vacancy and letting the owner see both numbers.

The report lists three other habits that managers say matter more in a looser market: keeping both owner and tenant informed, collecting more than one quote for repairs so the owner can compare costs, and readvertising quickly when a tenant gives notice, including asking the departing tenant for access so the home can be shown before it is empty.

The owner who puts off maintenance

The REIQ's chief executive, Antonia Mercorella, told Real Estate Business that property managers are reporting some owners have become more reluctant to pay for non-essential maintenance and upgrades. The institute's comment is an observation from its members, not a measured figure, and the report gives no number for how common it is.

It matters because the manager stands between two sets of obligations. The owner is the manager's client and gives the instructions. The tenant has rights under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 that do not depend on the owner's budget. The Residential Tenancies Authority's published guidance says the owner or manager must make sure routine repairs are completed within a reasonable time, taking into account how serious the problem is and whether tradespeople are available. A tenant who has asked in writing and waited can issue a Notice to remedy breach on Form 11, which allows a minimum of seven days, then use the authority's free dispute resolution service, and then apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a repair order.

Emergency repairs sit on a shorter clock. The authority's guidance lists them, from a burst water service or a gas leak to a fault that leaves the home unsafe, and says that a tenant who cannot reach the nominated repairer or the manager within a reasonable time may arrange the work up to a cost of four weeks' rent and ask to be reimbursed.

The distinction the institute draws, between non-essential work and the rest, is therefore the one a manager has to keep clear for the owner. Putting off an upgrade is a commercial choice. Putting off a repair is a breach waiting to be notified, and in a market where the tenant has more homes to choose from it is also a reason for them to leave.

Showing a home before it is empty

Readvertising early, the third habit in the report, depends on getting in the door while the outgoing tenant still lives there. The rules for that are the authority's, and they are specific.

A manager may enter to show the home to a prospective tenant only after the tenant has given notice to leave or has received a notice ending the tenancy, and must give at least 48 hours' notice on an Entry notice, Form 9. Entry has to fall between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, unless the tenant agrees to another time. Once a notice ending the tenancy has been given, the authority's guidance limits entry to two occasions in any seven days, apart from exceptions such as emergencies and smoke alarm work.

Those limits explain why the report speaks of requesting access. A departing tenant who agrees to extra viewings, or to a time outside the standard hours, makes a faster re-let possible. A manager cannot require it. In practice that means the relationship with the tenant during the tenancy affects how quickly the owner's next tenant is found, which is one reason experienced managers treat communication with both sides as part of the same job.

Who the manager works for

Much of this turns on a point that is easy to lose: a property manager is the owner's agent. In Queensland the work of letting homes and collecting rent for someone else is licensed work under the Property Occupations Act 2014, and the owner appoints the agency in writing on the Office of Fair Trading's approved Form 6. The office's guidance describes a rental management as a continuing appointment, which either the owner or the agent can end with 30 days' written notice, or less if both agree.

The manager therefore advises and the owner decides, within the law. A recommendation to hold a rent, to accept a slightly lower offer from a strong applicant, or to approve a repair today is advice. If the owner instructs otherwise and the instruction is lawful, the manager follows it. If it is not lawful, for example a refusal to carry out a repair the tenancy law requires, the conduct rules in the Property Occupations Regulation 2014 say an agent acts on a client's instructions unless they are contrary to the rules or otherwise unlawful.

A softer market makes that advisory role more visible. When every home leased in a weekend, the difference between a careful recommendation and a routine one was hard to see. With vacancy at 2 per cent and above in Wide Bay, it shows up as weeks of rent.

What the figures do not say

Three limits apply to all of this. First, a rise in 27 regions leaves 23 that were steady or tighter, and the state median did not move from 1.0 per cent. Even the two highest readings in the report, 2.2 and 2.3 per cent, describe markets where about 98 rental homes in every 100 are occupied.

Second, the practices described come from one trade press report quoting one regional manager and the institute. They show how managers in an easing market are thinking, and they are not a survey of the profession.

Third, a quarterly vacancy rate is a snapshot. The REIQ's next reading, for the September quarter, will show whether the rise in Wide Bay and the smaller moves elsewhere continued through winter or were a pause. Until then, the working assumption in property management offices in those regions is the one the report describes: more explanation at renewal, more care over repair costs, and less time lost between one tenant and the next.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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