Australian-first study using official Airbnb data shows it has minimal impact on the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets.
We worked with Airbnb to analyse their host data to understand the impact of this service on the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets. The report we developed was the first in Australia to use official Airbnb data.
Airbnb listings represent a very small proportion of the total dwelling market across both Sydney and Melbourne. In 2017, there were approximately 25,000 guest host listings in Sydney and 14,500 in Melbourne. 15,200 listings were for entire homes or apartments in Sydney (which represents 0.9 per cent of all Sydney dwellings), while 8,500 entire homes or apartments were listed in Melbourne (0.5 per cent of all dwellings).
The hosting rate of Airbnb listings in Sydney and Melbourne averages less than 50 per cent. This means that each listing has a less than 50 per cent chance of being booked.
"Broadly speaking, it is not financially beneficial to host property on Airbnb instead of renting to a long-term tenant. It appears that renting has higher expected takings over the time period of a standard lease agreement. It is only more profitable to list a property on Airbnb full-time rather than on the rental market in a small number of cases. For example, in Melbourne City, where the hosting rate is around 70 per cent."
SGS Principal and Partner, Terry Rawnsley.
