Region. Vacancies tight in the sourh-west

Sydney's rental crisis has worsened and the more affordable south-west suburbs and popular inner-city enclaves are feeling the most strain, the Real Estate Institute of NSW said. Property analysts SQM Research said vacancies were tightest in the south-west. In Bonnyrigg, the vacancy rate was 0.3 per cent in October, the lowest in Sydney. In Bankstown, the rate was 0.4 per cent and in Campbelltown, 0.8 per cent. The city-wide vacancy rate had fallen to 1.1 per cent, the tightest market in six months, the institute said. ''That situation will only continue to worsen as we enter 2011, when available rental accommodation will be further squeezed by growing demand from tertiary students seeking properties,'' said the institute's president, Wayne Stewart.