PERTH’S rental vacancy rate plunged to an all time low of 0.8 per cent, while land prices surged ahead in the March quarter, according to the REIWA and UDIA WA. REIWA president Rob Druitt described the situation as dire, and attributed the vacancy rate to a rapidly growing population and the big drop in first home buyers. Median metropolitan rents have risen by almost 4 per cent in the quarter to $270 per week, while there had been a 25 per cent reduction in new leases.