Call to limit ‘short’ rentals
Owners opt for Airbnb
LONG-TERM rentals are being repurposed as AirBnbs – reaping owners four times as much in some cases – as they cash in on a resurgence of tourism on the Gold Coast.
Suburban homes previously occupied by long-term tenants are now earning owners up to four times more on the holiday letting market, a Bulletin investigation shows.
The squeeze it is putting on tenants’ ability to find longterm rentals has prompted QShelter executive director Fiona Caniglia to call for “limitations” on short-term letting.
Among properties examined by the Bulletin are:
• A Coomera house rented for years at $650 a week, and now listed for up to $425 per night – or $2975 a week – on Airbnb after being sold to new owners in October last year.
• A Palm Beach house rented since 2009, listed at $550 per week two years ago, now on Airbnb for $572 per night.
• An Oxenford house advertised for rent in October 2020 for $450 per week, now on Airbnb for $250 per night.
The popularity of shortterm rentals has surged with international tourism returning. The number of Gold Coast properties listed on short-term rental sites had risen to 7035 in the second quarter of this year from a low of 6120 nine months earlier, analytics firm AirDNA figures shows.
It’s well below their prepandemic peak, suggesting room for further strong growth in listings.
Occupancy rates have risen sharply, sitting at 90 per cent in August this year compared to 43 per cent last October.
The agency estimates the average daily rate achieved by short-term lettings on the Gold Coast is $289, which equates to just over $2000 a week. According to SQM Research, the average median weekly rent on the Gold Coast is $988 for houses and $650 for units. The vacancy rate is 0.6 per cent.
Research by the Property Investment Professionals of Australia also suggests investors are selling in big numbers. The group estimates 162,000 dwellings lost to the long-term rental market in Queensland in two years. It is not known how many have been subsequently made available on short-term rental sites.
QShelter executive director Fiona Caniglia said there was lack of good data on short-term letting’s impact on the rental market but was concerned it could become a big problem before 2032’s Olympics.
“As we move towards mega events like World Cups and the Olympics there’s a huge opportunity for people with dwellings they are not living in to benefit from short-term rental.
“But in an environment where we don’t have enough supply to meet demand that will impact and most probably displace people who need to live here to work or live here because that’s where their social connections are. We definitely think it needs regulation and limitations. We maybe wouldn’t need to say that if we had a healthy housing market but we don’t.”