Some open for inspections are attracting dozens of people at a single property, leaving many potential renters distraught and worried about their living situation.

Property managers are experiencing an unprecedented amount of inquiry from potential renters, and there is simply not enough homes available.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive officer Gil King said Warrnambool’s vacancy rate had decreased over the past year. 

The REIV’s latest data shows that rental vacancy rates across regional Victoria were at record lows and Warrnambool is no exception.

“Warrnambool’s rental vacancy rate was sitting at 1.8 per cent at the end of December 2018, compared with 2.5 per cent in December 2017,” Mr King said.

“A rate of at least three per cent is required for a healthy rental market. Median house rents in the Warrnambool area have also increased in recent years, with the median weekly rent on a house going from $310 in 2013 to $340 in 2018, however, the median weekly rent for a unit has remained unchanged at $270.

“The Victorian property market is under significant pressure due to a range of factors including tighter bank lending standards, land tax and stamp duty surcharges for foreign buyers, the passing of the Residential Tenancies Act and proposed negative gearing reforms. These pressures are damaging investor confidence and stifling investor activity.”

Homeseeka Real Estate has witnessed a huge growth in the amount of inquiry for rental properties.

Property manager John Warren said at most of his property inspections there was at least 10 people.

“In the past we used to just have an inquiry and (organise an appointment ) to show people through,” he said.

“Now we are getting a listing and the demand is so high that we do open for inspections. We just don’t have enough times to show multiple people through. We are finding big numbers turn up to the inspections. It has been like that since probably around October. It’s the tightest I have seen it in 10 years.” 

He said tighter bank loan requirements to buy a home, people who had quickly sold their home and were waiting on their new property to be built and an influx of new residents to the city where some of the reasons why the market was so tight.

“Warrnambool is going really well and the town is quite buoyant,” he said.

“There are a lot of white collar positions available. In the past at inspections you knew most people, but now we are getting an influx of people coming from metropolitan areas and there are not as many people leaving.”

Director Darryl Kenna said the inquiry for both sales and rentals from non-locals had doubled.

“That’s one of the key drivers,” he said.

“People might rent for six or 12 months and then buy. With the buoyant market it’s the opportune time to realise the capital growth. Some investors are selling their rental properties.”

Mr Kenna said one positive was that it was a “terrific time to buy an investment property in Warrnambool”.

“Rental returns are better and there are more professionals coming to the city looking for homes,” he said.

The Standard journalist Monique Patterson is currently on maternity leave.

She shared her own experience of struggling to find a new rental after the landlord of the property she lived in wanted to return. 

“Just after Christmas my fiance Bill and I found out the owner of the rental property we live in had decided to move back in,” she said.

“The news was a huge shock because we are parents to a five-month-old, Jaxon. We knew it would be a stressful time, but we didn't realise how stressful until we started looking. We immediately went online to discover there were a limited number of rentals and many were out of our price range.”

She said she quickly discovered that it was difficult to even arrange an inspection for many of the properties that were available.

“It was my experience that you have to ring each agent or apply online to attend an inspection and they're all group inspections,” she said.

“It's so competitive and a number of the agents have a booking system where you book in for the inspections. However, the spots fill up fast and if you don't get in quick enough you get locked out of that inspection and then the property will most likely be leased before you have inspected it.

“That happened to me on a number of occasions. The only possible way I was able to try and get a spot for the properties that have online bookings was to check early each morning and regularly throughout the day. On two occasions I tried to book in to look at a property 15 to 20 minutes after it had appeared online and I was unsuccessful.”

She said it had been a “such a shock” to see how many people were at each inspection.

“I would say there was 15 to 20 at each property and most were taking applications at the end of the inspection,” she said.

“One property we looked at in Merrivale Drive had the neighbours wondering what was going on. ‘It's just a house for lease,’ I assured one concerned neighbour who couldn't believe the number of cars.”

She has finally been successful in securing a new place.

“We have lived at our property for two years and now find ourselves among the lucky few,” she said.

“Our agent, Pam at Falk and Co, helped us retain a new rental. I am extremely grateful for that but I feel sorry for newcomers to town and also people who don't know how to use the internet or who work full-time or don't live in Warrnambool.

“You have to look at properties before you can apply and you have to be quick to secure a spot at the inspections. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure it would be a great time for investors to buy property and rent it out. I know any rental would be snapped up.”