Residential vacancy rates crash in regional New South Wales

On the day a multi-million-dollar campaign has been launched to entice more people to move out of major cities, new figures paint a bleak picture for renters looking for a home in regional New South Wales.

Residential vacancy rates are below 1 per cent in many areas.

Data released by the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales showed a vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent for the Northern Rivers last month.

That was down from 1.4 per cent in January, while the vacancy rate for Sydney was more than 3 per cent.

REI chief executive Tim McKibbin said 0.6 per cent was…