Australia is having an Airbnb Effect… Emily Wright, mother-of-two faced homelessness
as she searched for months to find a new home in one of Australia's tightest rental markets. While
giving an interview on ABC News, Wright said that it is the number of Airbnb on the Gold Coast that
has made it difficult to find a rental. The rental crisis in Australia is so bad
it's become the real estate version of The Hunger Games.
Another Brisbane resident, Ariel, has expressed her concerns about finding rental properties.
She was staying in a Brisbane apartment building that had been converted into short-term housing.
Ariel's TikTok activism helped raise 14,496 signatures on an e-petition calling for a
Royal Commission into the National Housing Crisis and an investigation into whether the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights right to an acceptable standard of life has been violated.
So, while it may seem like a convenient way for homeowners to make some extra cash,
the reality is that Airbnb is having a devastating impact on Australia's rental market,
and the local communities are suffering. In this video, we'll take a closer look at
the facts and figures behind Airbnb's impact on Australia's rental market,
and what it means for the future of affordable housing in the country.
Body Airbnb, a company that started in 2008 as a
way for homeowners to rent out their spare rooms, has now grown into a multi-billion dollar company.
However, Australia is facing an Airbnb Effect… Airbnb arrived in Australia in 2012,
and millions of international and domestic tourists have used the platform since then.
The number of listings in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane has surged by more than 50% in
recent years, according to the Australian Financial Review.
It has brought with it a series of profound shifts; from a new willingness to do business
with strangers over the internet and sleep in someone else’s bed, to giving anyone the ability
to live like a local in someone else’s town. But now, it has sparked concerns about the
benefits of booming short-term accommodation when locals have nowhere to live.
Across the country, Australia's rental market is under unprecedented pressure,
with experts labeling it a national crisis. And this growth has been so rapid that some
people are now choosing to buy homes just to rent them out on Airbnb, rather than live in them.
And there is a term being used for these houses which is “Ghost hotels”
So, Airbnb isn’t the innocent “home-sharing” site it pretends to be. It encourages greedy
opportunists to snap up real estate in city centers to rent exclusively to tourists,
driving out long-term residents, raising rents, and killing local businesses.
So, what does this signify for the Australian rental market?
Well, the growth in Airbnb listings is having an effect on the housing market
by driving up property prices. This is due to investors purchasing properties to rent
out on Airbnb, which increases demand for properties in popular locations.
This demand causes home prices to rise, making it even more difficult
for locals to enter the housing market. Moreover, there are fewer properties available
for long-term renting, which is driving up rental prices as well. Because people
are buying houses solely to rent them out… This is making it increasingly difficult
for low-income families to find housing, and in certain locations,
it is generating widespread homelessness. As a result, with only fewer people living in the
region who are invested in the local community, there may be a loss of community spirit.
It can also lead to a scarcity of services, such as schools and healthcare facilities
because there are fewer citizens to support them. And if this trend continues, more and more locals
will likely be priced out of the rental and property markets, which will have long-term
implications for the country. But we can’t let this happen.
If AirBnB gets its way, the lively, colorful neighborhoods visitors love will disappear,
replaced by charmless tourist dead zones. Let’s have a look at some numbers…
The Real Estate Institute of Australia reports that the typical weekly rent for a residence in
Sydney has risen by 39% since 2012. Locals are finding it increasingly difficult to afford a
place to live as rental costs climb. Airdna, a data tracking company,
tracks 11,043 Airbnb listings in Sydney, 71% of which are complete homes.
And it's not just Sydney. In Melbourne, Airbnb has over 10,000 homes listed that were taken away from
the long-term rental market. In Brisbane, that number is over 3,000. In Melbourne, it monitors
15,526 dwellings, 82% of which are entire homes. That's a lot of properties being taken off the
rental market and used for short-term rentals. And you can see in this chart how rental vacancy
rates have fallen to 0.9%, and rents increased by 15.3% in 2022. This trend will continue into 2023,
a crushing prospect for those renting while trying to save a deposit to buy their own home.
But who's benefiting from this? Certainly, not locals who are
struggling to find affordable housing… And, who's to blame for this?
Some argue that Airbnb is taking advantage of a flawed system,
while others believe that the government needs to do more to regulate the company.
Now… It's clear that the local community
is suffering the most from the rise of Airbnb, with many struggling to find affordable housing.
But what about the tourists? As Tourism is the lifeline of Australia…
Travelers flock to the beautiful vegetation of the New South Wales town for the trails,
rivers, and wineries. It also holds folk and cultural events, is a favorite wedding location,
and is a short drive from south coast beaches. But Kangaroo Valley is in a bind due to its own
popularity: it's nearly impossible to find a place to live there.
This Airbnb effect has also created challenges for tourists and other visitors who are looking
for affordable and available long-term rental accommodation in Australia, as they may be
competing with locals and other visitors who are also searching for limited rental properties.
So, what can be done to address this issue? Well, there is no easy answer, but some
potential solutions include increased regulations on short-term rentals, the introduction of vacant
property taxes, and incentives for homeowners to rent out their properties to long-term tenants.
The impact of Airbnb on the long-term rental market is not unique to Australia
and has been observed in many other countries around the world. And they
are also taking various steps to deal with it… For instance, Amsterdam, San Francisco and London
have set limits of 30-90 nights per year that an entire home can be booked on a platform like
Airbnb. Beyond this time, planning permission is needed to change the use of the property.
But given Australia’s dire shortage of rental housing, restricting short-term
rentals seems like a no-brainer. So, at first, in order to reduce
the rental crisis, Australia needs to build more well-located rental dwellings that are affordable
to people on low incomes. Strategies to make this happen can include targeting Commonwealth
Rent Assistance (CRA) more effectively; increasing CRA to better align with rents in local areas; and
improving connectivity between outer suburban and satellite city housing markets and job-rich areas.
Ultimately, it will take a concerted effort from all parties involved, including local governments,
homeowners, and travelers, to ensure that the benefits of short-term rentals like Airbnb
don't come at the expense of affordable housing for locals and tourists as well.
Outro So, what do
you think? Do you agree that Airbnb is having a negative impact on Australia's rental market?
And if so, what do you think should be done to address the issue? Let
us know in the comments section below. And as always, thank you for watching!