Sydney residential vacancy rates fell with middle Sydney leading the way, according to data released by the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales.

The August 2015 REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey saw the number of properties for rent across Sydney retreat 0.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent.

REINSW President Malcolm Gunning said middle Sydney dropped 0.2 per cent 1.5 per cent, and outer Sydney remained steady at 1.6 per cent and inner Sydney bucked the trend with a rise of 0.1 per cent at 2.2 per cent.

“The inner city is still showing signs of supply slowly entering the market place. This is the area where the first developments started and it is really beginning to mature.

“Middle Sydney’s fall highlights that tenants are seeking affordability, while the outer areas are where the jobs are,” Mr Gunning said.

The Hunter region saw a decline of 0.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent after Newcastle dropped 0.8 per cent to 3.0 per cent.

In the Illawarra the overall vacancy rate fell 0.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent, led by a fall of 0.5 per cent to 0.9 per cent in Wollongong.

The regional areas saw Albury down 0.3 per cent to 1.9 per cent, the Central Coast was down 0.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent and New England slipped 0.6 per cent to 4.0. per cent.

* Suburbs included in ‘inner’, ‘middle’ and ‘outer’ Sydney are those falling within the Sydney Statistical Division as per the Australian Standard Geographic Classification of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

‘Inner’ includes suburbs in the following LGAs: Ashfield, Botany Bay, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Mosman, North Sydney, Randwick, Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra.

‘Middle’ includes suburbs in the following LGAs: Auburn, Bankstown, Burwood, Canterbury, Canada Bay, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Manly, Parramatta, Rockdale, Ryde, Strathfield and Willoughby.

‘Outer’ includes suburbs in the following LGAs: Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Hornsby, Liverpool, Penrith, Pittwater, Sutherland, Warringah, Wollondilly and Wyong.