With a mass exodus in tourism in March 2020, many property investors where quick to return their investment properties to the long-term unfurnished rental market. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia the supply of properties on the long-term rental market dramatically increased as properties previously listed on the short-term market became available in early to mid-2020.
This lack of short-term furnished property together with the inability to travel overseas, low interest rates and government stimulus packages such as the HomeBuilder Grant, has meant that short-term rental properties have powered through an international pandemic with high returns and low vacancy rates.
Although there are caps on the numbers of passengers coming into Australia, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics for April 2021, overseas visitor arrivals to Australia increased 171.9% since the previous month. Australian resident returns from overseas increased 83.6% since the previous month and there were 10,940 short-term visitor arrivals (an increase of 10,220 compared with the corresponding month of 2020).
After Hotel Quarantine, where do they go? Travellers prefer entire homes and apartments, full kitchens, dedicated work and outdoor space. Compared to hotels, short-terms rentals saw higher average daily rates in July 2020 than in July 2019 in many countries around the world.
In August of 2020, AirDNA conducted a report on how Coronavirus has impacted the respective markets of hotels and short-term rentals. Some of the major findings? Short-term holiday rentals are (not surprisingly) faring far better than their hotel counterparts.
Australian Bureau of Statistics further show that renovation and build approvals for private houses have surged 40 per cent since June 2020.
Total dwelling approvals rose in New South Wales (12.3%), Western Australia (5.5%) and South Australia (3.4%). Approvals for private sector houses rose in New South Wales (30.1%), Queensland (8.3%), and South Australia (2.7%).
For renovators and home builders, short-term stays are flexible on lease period. There is no need to lock into a 3, 6 or 12month rental agreement. Tenant’s love the idea of moving in without any worries. All they need to do is unpack and relax with all utilities, linens, towels, kitchen-ware and house-hold appliances included. According to Airbnb Australia, the average booking time since January 2021 has been 23 days.
So how does an investor pandemic-proof their property? Most property investors find it difficult to shift their thinking away from the traditional means of leasing though once converted, they don’t look back with higher returns and better property care. The first step is to call in the professionals like Air Design Australia who can manage everything from fit-out to check-ins.
By Angela Carrick
Angela Carrick is the founder of Air Design Australia. She is an Australian resident, property owner and property professional with over 20 years’ experience in Residential Real Estate Sales and Leasing. Angela has over 10 years’ experience managing short-term rentals over a number of on-line platforms like Airbnb and enjoys providing a quality service to both investor and guest.
