Despite rental shortages Census shows unoccupied properties up sharply in Cassowary Coast and Port Douglas

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Pete Faulkner - Cairns, Census, Uncategorized

We’ve heard, and written, plenty about the shortage of rental properties in the Far North. The rental vacancy rate in the Cairns region currently sits at a record low 0.5% and rents on houses and units are up 15-18% for the year. Nevertheless, the 2021 Census shows a sharp increase in the percentage of dwellings which were sitting empty on Census night, when compared to 2016, in the Cassowary Coast and Port Douglas. Across Cairns the rate fell quite sharply.

Digging deeper into the Innisfail-Cassowary Coast and Port Douglas-Daintree regions shows Tully SA2 (which includes Mission Beach, Cardwell and Tully) had the highest rate (although the smallest increase) in the Cassowary Coast while in Port Douglas-Daintree the increase since 2016 came from the Daintree SA2 and not Port Douglas SA2 itself (which stayed at an elevated level).