Aerial view along Gold Coast and line of high-rise towers.
A lack of housing stock and not short-term letting has been blamed for Queensland’s rental woes, a new report reveals.
The state government commissioned the University of Queensland to investigate the impact of short-stay sites including Airbnb and Stayz following calls some of the properties were sitting empty while Queenslanders were struggling to find a long-term rental.
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var result = minutes + “:” + (seconds < 10 ? "0" + seconds : seconds); return result; } })(window.videojs); But Deputy Premier Steven Miles said short term letting was not impacting the state’s rental market and put the blame on a lack of “housing options”. “The review found no clear alignment between the suburbs with the highest rent increases and the percentage of dwellings devoted to short-term rental,” he said. Deputy Premier Steven Miles. “Instead, dwelling stocks emerged as the significant contributor to explaining rental prices. “These results show that while short-term rentals can affect rental affordability to some extent, its impact is limited. “The review emphasised the vital role of housing availability and supply in rental prices, highlighting the importance of having enough housing options for our community.” Some Gold Coast residents are boycotting short stay rentals in favour of hotels. It comes as some Gold Coast residents boycott short stay rentals in favour of hotels in a move to help the long-term rental market. “I won’t book an Airbnb with the long-term rental market so bad,” a post read in a Facebook group of Gold Coast business owners. “I don’t believe ethically that homes being used for vacations are more important than homes for people to live in. Will always book hotels.” MORE NEWS: Huge appetite for Isle of Capri property Free rent: Perks back as Qld landlords try to lock in long leases Jewel: Move into your new beachfront apartment now REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said the report reiterates what the Institute had always known – rental supply was the source of the rental crisis and is what impacts rental affordability. “How many different times do we need to end up coming to the same conclusion that insufficient rental supply is the root of the issue before it hits home?” Ms Mercorella said. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella. “This report cements the fact there is no correlation between the prevalence of short-term rentals and nearby long-term rental affordability, and our hope is that it can finally stop distracting government from where their real focus needs to be – addressing supply.” The state government review revealed in the first quarter of 2023, there were 19,773 active short-term rentals across Queensland with about 11,000 estimated to be used permanently. The long-term rental market on the Gold Coast, where the median rent is $775 per week according to PropTrack data, has 1753 properties up for lease on realestate.com.au. Ray White Surfers Paradise Groups’s Andrew Bell. Ray White Surfers Paradise Group CEO Andrew Bell said there needed to be a better balance between short-term and long-term rentals. “There’s no question that if properties in the short-term rental pool were changed into permanent rentals it would boost the supply of long-term rentals significantly,” Mr Bell said. “There’s quite a strong battle between the two industries and the people who are most affected are long-term renters.” “Short-term does provide holiday accommodation which is vital to tourism and the local economy. “There’s been a push from the short-term holiday accommodation sector to encourage investors who have long-term rentals to switch to AirBnbs and short-term accommodation which adds to the shortage in the market place. Aerial view of the Gold Coast. Mr Bell said there were suburbs where short-term rentals were more relevant including Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Main Beach. “It’s when you find people offering short-term accommodation in suburbs like Coomera or Robina – that’s where the question would be is this property better in the long- term rental pool rather than the short-term rental pool,” he said. Gold Coast property aerial. Adam Grbcic, of Kollosche Broadbeach, said most Airbnbs on the Glitter Strip were commonly in mid-high-rise buildings in the central Gold Coast. “The increase in Airbnbs would have a direct impact on the rental market and availabilities,” he said. “Although the price points of a lot of Airbnb units and general dwellings would be considered outside of the ‘affordable rental’ bracket, it removes the ability for medium-long-term share house rentals which is what is becoming more and more prevalent. “Apart from this, as owners with the correct zoning and approvals should be able to lease or short term pool their property at their discretion, the solutions for more dwellings are also in the control of local and state governments.” He said he believed both the state government and Gold Coast City Council could have a huge impact on the delivery of new developments. “If we want to increase supply, we can reduce council costs or create incentives for developers to give them more confidence to deliver projects,” he said. The post Rental crisis blame game – who’s at fault? appeared first on realestate.com.au.