Every year, the Wagga Wagga rental market slows as the temperature drops, and 2026 is no exception. We sat down with Scott Jones, PRD Wagga Wagga’s Property Management Department Manager, to get an honest read on what winter means for landlords and how to navigate it.
“Winter is genuinely the most challenging time of the year to lease a property,” Scott says. “Even in a market as tight as ours, tenants simply don’t want to move when it’s cold. Families are settled into school routines, people are reluctant to pack boxes in July, and inspection attendance drops noticeably compared to February or March.”
The pattern bears this out. Fewer new leases are signed across the June to August quarter than during the January to March peak, and newly vacant properties tend to sit longer before leasing through the colder months, when inspection attendance and tenant movement both slow.
That said, context matters. Wagga Wagga’s rental vacancy rate sits at 1.0% as at March 2026, well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s 3.0% healthy-market benchmark and lower than the Wagga LGA average of 0.6%, according to PRD’s 1st Half 2026 Market Update. Demand has not evaporated; it has simply slowed. The median weekly house rent has reached $550, up 5.8% over the 12 months to Q1 2026. These are not the figures of a soft market.
“What we’re seeing in winter 2026 is a relative softening, not a structural one,” Scott explains. “Properties that are well-presented, correctly priced and actively marketed are still leasing. The ones sitting empty tend to have at least one of those three things wrong.”
Scott’s advice for landlords with a vacancy right now is direct: don’t wait it out. A property sitting empty costs more than a modest rent adjustment. Make sure heating is shown to be working at inspections. It’s one of the first things prospective tenants notice this time of year. Quality photography taken before winter arrived, while gardens were still green, can also make a meaningful difference in first impressions online.
PRD’s team is actively managing vacancy minimisation strategies for all managed properties through the winter period. If your property is currently vacant or you have an upcoming vacancy, speak with the property management team at PRD Real Estate Wagga Wagga on 02 6923 3555 or visit prdwagga.com.au.
