The number of short-stay rental properties in the ACT has more than doubled in 12 months, signalling landlords are looking to get a better return on their investment, the Real Estate Institute of Australia has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A report released by the institute found there were 1133 short-stay entire dwellings in the ACT at the March 2023 quarter, a 66.4 per cent increase on the previous year when there were 681 dwellings available.
It means 0.6 per cent of all properties in the ACT were short-stay entire dwellings in the March 2023 quarter.
Entire dwellings refer to an entire house or unit that can be rented on a short-stay platform, such as Airbnb. These are homes that can transition between the short-stay rental market and the private market, the report stated.
The total number of ACT short-stay accommodation options, which also includes rooms within a private home, was 1413 for the March 2023 quarter.
The biggest annual increase was in the suburb of Belconnen, where the number of short-stay properties was up 145.8 per cent to 59 dwellings. There was a 100 per cent increase in Reid where 36 short-stay homes were recorded, an 83.3 per cent increase in Lyneham (33 homes) and a 72.4 per cent increase in Braddon (131 homes).
The ACT had the biggest annual increase in short-stay entire dwellings across the capital cities.
A total 133,968 short-stay accommodation places were available in Australia over the March quarter, a 22.8 per cent increase on last year.
REIA president Hayden Groves said the short-stay market was a driving factor in the national rental crisis.
"As a crude equation, 133,968 on first glance appears to fill the forecast shortage of dwellings Australia will face by next financial year of 106,000," he said.
Private rental market versus short-stay option
Real Estate Institute of the ACT CEO Maria Edwards said high "holding costs" for rental properties were likely driving property owners towards the short-stay market.
"With interest rates going up, landlords might be looking to get a better return on their property than if they kept it on the long-term rental market," she said.
The report found in the March quarter, the annual gross income on a two-bedroom property in Canberra's long-term private rental market was $30,200.
An owner would only need 158 days of successful hosting to make the same income on the short-stay market, analysis by the Real Estate Institute found.
For a three-bedroom dwelling it would take around 147 days of hosting to meet the return of a private rental.
Ms Edwards said fewer people moving to Canberra last summer may have also contributed to the numbers.
"There was actually a real downturn in the number of people coming to long-term residential properties so I think landlords probably tried to switch to Airbnb to try that market out as well," she said.
In August, National Cabinet agreed to a suite of rental measures to help increase housing levels.
Among the changes, the leaders agreed to consider better regulation of short-stay residential accommodation.
READ MORE:
Mr Groves said the REIA report came at time when rental vacancy rates across the country were at "critical lows".
He said the report sought to better understand the impacts of the short-stay market on renters "so we can look to formulate a policy response together with government and short-stay accommodation providers".
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.