Canberra rents increased more than any other capital city in April. Picture: realestate.com.au

Melbourne, Perth and Darwin all experienced drops in median rents during April according to the latest CoreLogic RP Data rental review.

Nationally rents rose by a very minor 0.1 per cent in April, but that wasn’t enough to help improve the yearly result, with rents down 0.2 per cent for the combined capital cities to $486 a week.

In April rents in Canberra performed the best with an increase of 2.2 per cent.

Darwin was the worst performer with its rent down 2.1 per cent.

It was also the worst for the past 12 months with its rents down by 12.6 per cent, followed by Perth which was down 8.9 per cent.

Sydney still recorded the highest weekly rent of $602 while Hobart had the cheapest at $346 a week.

The latest results nationally for rental growth are the lowest level on record for CoreLogic RP Data.

CoreLogic RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher does not believe the situation will improve anytime soon.

“We anticipate that the weakness in the rental market will persist over the year and rents will

continue to fall over the coming months,’’ he said.

“Factors contributing to a slowing in rental growth include falling real wages, excess rental supply in certain areas and lower rates of population growth - all of which have impacted on demand for rental accommodation.”

He said renters were now in a strong position to negotiate as landlords would be reluctant to try and put rents up in the current environment as they may lose their tenants.

Source: CoreLogic RP Data.