Data reveals scale of holiday home numbers with top Airbnb management company listing more than 100 houses

Airbnb rental management companies are accused of “capitalising on a crisis” as the number of short-term properties in the South West outnumbers long-term rentals by more than 20 to one. Short-term Airbnb rentals in the South West have climbed to 2820 with management companies accounting for about 25 percent according to data collated by Shelter WA. It is a format which the organisation says worsens the housing crisis by making it “extremely easy” for owners to list their properties as short-term rentals. Shelter WA advocacy, media and campaigns lead Chantal Caruso said management companies were prioritising profit without considering the impact on the local community. “It’s unfortunately capitalising on a crisis and we would love to see those companies instead show as much enthusiasm for finding affordable rentals and letting them out to workers and people wanting to live and thrive in those regions,” she said. “I think those places are essentially making it extremely easy for people that are motivated or maybe even just curious about turning their home into an Airbnb to do it as a business.” The management companies are most active in tourist towns with some areas having more than 60 times the short-term rentals to longer-term properties available. The biggest of the short-stay management companies in the South West has more than 125 properties on its books, with six other providers managing more than 50 properties and another 10 with more than 15 listed. Across the South West short-stay Airbnb properties now outnumber long-term rentals 2820 to 129 in those local government areas that have more than 10 listings. In Bunbury, short-term listings exceeded rentals 89 to 74 while the area with the biggest gap, Capel, had just one rental available and 63 short-stay listings. In the popular tourist areas of Busselton, Dunsborough and Yallingup the proportion was 43 to one while in Augusta-Margaret River, there were 59 times the number of listings to rentals. Ms Caruso said short-stay accommodation was hurting affordable living for many in need. She said of the long-term rentals available in the South West there were only five listed at less than $400 per week. “Short-term listings in our words have completely cannibalized the local rental market,” she said. “In places like Busselton and Bunbury and Esperance and Margaret River in the South West and Great Southern, there’s something like a 55 AirBnB split for every single rental so it’s a complete catastrophe. “It’s not only affected supply and availability of rentals but it’s also affected affordability.” Despite the pressure on the market, Ms Caruso said she was optimistic that recent government initiatives would make a difference. New rules around transparency, limiting nights stayed in the dwelling and a $10,000 incentive to switch Airbnb listings to long-term rentals will all help according to Ms Caruso. “The great thing is that the Government is listening and that the reforms they announced a couple of weeks ago will actually really help to have an impact,” she said. “That’s something I think we should all celebrate that finally governments, not just in WA, but around the world are starting to take notice of the impact that rentals are having on the wider market.”