Property analysts consider 3 per cent the balancing point for rental supply and demand.

The overall vacancy rate for the Brisbane metropolitan area fell from 3.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent by the end of March, according to figures collated by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland.

“Queensland is seeing a return to a tighter rental market,” REIQ chief executive Anton Kardash said.

‘‘Excluding the spike recorded in December, the Brisbane vacancy rate has been around the 2 to 2.3 per cent mark for over 12 months now.’’

The greater Brisbane area saw the largest vacancy decline, down to 1.9 per cent at the end of March.

The busiest time for the Brisbane rental market is the first three months of the year, so conditions are expected to ease by the mid-year mark.

However in the meantime the tightening conditions have seen weekly rent prices increase.

Lachlan Walker of Place Advisory said the biggest price hikes could be found in Hamilton, South Brisbane, Bulimba, Hawthorne and Fairfield, all of which recorded an increase of 6 per cent in the median rent for two-bedroom apartments in 2013.

The weekly rent for a two bedroom apartment in South Brisbane increased from $485 to $510 in the year to March, due largely to the influx of high-quality, new apartment buildings in the suburb.

Outlying city areas recorded a decline of at least 0.3 percentage points. Logan and Redland City recorded the largest drops, both down 0.8 percentage points to 1.2 and 1.6 per cent respectively.

Local agents have reported seeing more investment properties sell to owner-occupies, reducing the rental pool in some areas, Mr Kardash said.

Also, the REIQ’s March residential rental vacancy survey - completed by the institute’s accredited property management members - found more tenants were choosing to stay put, with minimal to no rent increases on lease renewals.

According to some local agents surveyed, the Gold Coast’s rental market is experiencing the tightest conditions in years, with rental properties being filled within one or two weeks of becoming vacant.

It’s a similar story on the Sunshine Coast, where the vacancy rate fell to 1.2 per cent in March.

In Caloundra and Maroochydore, the vacancy rate dropped to 0.9 per cent.

In rural Queensland, however, a large number of rental properties are sitting empty in the wake of the mining sector downturn.

‘‘Local agents in Gladstone and Mackay say investors are still very thin on the ground and rental stock remains in over-supply, with tenant demand also down,’’ Mr Kardash said.

The vacancy rate in Mackay decreased slightly over the three months to March, but remained above 7 per cent.
Meanwhile, Gladstone’s rental vacancy rate fell 1.3 percentage points to 6.4 per cent.