Prices of South Coast holiday homes are being slashed and the minimum stay reduced in a bid to fill properties during a more subdued summer period.
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International travel, cost of living increases and an unseasonably wet summer have contributed to softer demand across areas like Mollymook and Batemans Bay, some operators say.
Demand for Mollymook Beach holiday rentals is down 27 per cent for January compared to last summer, while demand in Mollymook is down 17 per cent, data provided to The Canberra Times by Airdna shows.
The platform analyses data from short-term rental properties listed on Stayz and Airbnb.
The data, captured on December 14, shows 3971 booking nights in Mollymook Beach for January compared to 5470 nights booked in December 2021 for January 2022.
Prices have remained steady for January 2023 with the average daily rate in Mollymook Beach about $654, compared $632 last January.
In Batemans Bay, the average daily rate for January is $428 compared to $449 12 months ago.
Local holiday rental agencies are seeing an even bigger contrast in prices compared to last year.
Bella Coastal Property Mollymook holiday manager Caroline Leahy said while the price of some South Coast rentals has remained the same, others have been reduced "considerably".
"I did have one property, it's a beautiful property on acreage, not far from the beach and sleeps about 10 to 15 people," she said.
"It was on for $2500 a night but we've dropped it down to $1000."
The group has also reduced the seven-night minimum stay requirement on some properties to a five-night minimum.
Ms Leahy said holidaymakers have more options available to them this summer now that COVID-19 travel restrictions have lifted.
"This year because we can move around the prices of the homes have to drop in order to relate to what the market is after," she said.
McGrath Mollymook's holiday rentals are heavily booked between Boxing Day and January 2 but beyond that, bookings are "staggered".
"I've had to go in and reduce rates, reduce minimum nights to try and get that traffic through," McGrath Mollymook senior property manager Kelly Robertson said.
It's a stark contrast to last summer, when holidaymakers "didn't care" what they spent on a coastal getaway, Ms Robertson said.
"Last year ... we were coming out of COVID so people had been locked away for months through the year," she said.
"They weren't allowed to go overseas last year ... everyone just wanted to come out down the coast.
"The prices we saw last year were pretty crazy, it was like they just didn't care what cost it was, they just wanted to get out of Sydney or Canberra."
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Ms Robertson suspects rising interest rates and the cost of petrol are making people rethink holidays this year.
"I think the weather is a big factor this year as well," she said.
"We're having a wet summer so that's also another reason people may be holding off and maybe we'll see some last minute bookings come through."
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