Six of the eight capital cities delivered growth in their rentals in 2018, both for houses and for apartments. The Domain Rental Report shows that rents are stronger than sale prices in terms of growth in the past year.

There is, as always, a strong correlation between vacancy rates and rental growth. The cities with the tightest rental markets, Hobart and Canberra, are the ones with the highest annual growth in their rentals.

Canberra now has the highest average house rents in the nation, up 3.7% to $560 per week, having overtaken Sydney when average rents have fallen.

Other cities with low vacancies, Adelaide and Melbourne, have also recorded solid growth in their rentals.

Two cities where vacancy rates have been high in the recent past but have improved recently - Brisbane and Perth - are also both delivering moderate growth in their rents – around 2-3% in 2018.

The only cities where rents have fallen in the past year are those where vacancies are trending higher Sydney and Darwin.