Perth rental leasing soars this year

More affordable rental prices in Perth have sparked a sharp jump in properties being leased this year, say real estate agents.

One-bedroom leased properties increased by 50 per cent in the March quarter, compared with the previous 2015 December quarter, the Real Estate Institute of WA's figures show.

Two and three bedroom properties were up 18 per cent.

The total volume of leased properties in Perth increased by 17 per cent, with four and five-bedroom property leasings declining.

The vacancy rate had come down to 5.6 per cent in the March quarter from six per cent.

It since fell to 4.6 per cent in April, according to SQM Research, compared with a far tighter 2.1 per cent in Melbourne, 1.7 per cent in Sydney and 2.5 per cent nationally.

"Affordability in Perth's rental market has improved over the last 18 months, tenants who may have been living in shared accommodation are now finding that they can afford to move out on their own, which is why were seeing this shift to smaller households," said REIWA president Hayden Groves.

"While rental listings in Perth remain above the long term average, the number of properties leased in the March quarter has soared well above the growth of listings which is a real positive for the market."