The quarterly report released by And Chill Property Management – Australia’s leading Airbnb management agency for property investors – is derived from survey responses from 1,200 individuals across Melbourne and Sydney.
The Short Stay Confidence Index report examines the sentiment around the growth of the Airbnb market as well as the willingness for property investors to list their homes on Airbnb. The study found that 69% of respondents believe the Airbnb market is growing (responses equally split between rapid growth and slow growth), with 16% flatlining and 15% shrinking, generating a confidence index rating of 72. This result was consistent across all three age groups (18-34, 35-54, 55+) with the younger 18-34 demographic more optimistic for Airbnb market growth, along with females (75 compared to male’s 69 confidence index rating).
For prospective investment property owners’ willingness to list their property on Airbnb, 6% believe they would “make a lot more”, and 26% would “give it a go” – indicating 1 in 3 are keen to list their properties on Airbnb. In contrast, 40% would not list on Airbnb because they are “risk adverse” and 28% because they “don’t trust the online platform.” This result varies across the age groups with 18-34 group more inclined to say yes to listing than older cohorts.
“Australian property investors are in a unique position to cash in on the sustained Australian tourism boom driven by domestic and international travellers who are preferring apartments and homes over hotels, motels and hostels.” And Chill Property Management General Manager, Billy Hade, announced today.
Enabling this growth is property owners making the switch to Airbnb, the online platform that enables investors to take part in the sharing economy and rent their property in the short stay accommodation market for significantly higher returns than traditional long-term leasing.
“Our recent survey into ‘willingness to list on Airbnb’ produced an incredible result of 1 in 3 Australians saying YES to listing an investment property on Airbnb. The public enthusiasm for Airbnb is almost palpable as all indicators point to sustained Airbnb growth. Growth in the short-term rental market in Australia is almost entirely demand driven”, And Chill Property Management’s
Chris Leeson reports. “The Airbnb market is going through the growth period of the business cycle. The interesting thing to note about the growth in Australia is that it’s ‘demand pull’ growth – that is the number of listings and prices on Airbnb are going up because demand is pulling the market up. There is so much excess demand that the benefits to listing on Airbnb are continuously growing.”
“High property prices are causing low relative rental yields and higher mortgages, which coupled with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority’s push for tighter investor lending is putting significant stress on investors. The shortage of short stay accommodation and leasing on Airbnb provides high comparative yields for these investors”.
And Chill Property Management’s General Manager, Billy Hade, added “with the right skills and tools Airbnb can deliver returns up to almost 3 times traditional long term rents. The high returns are underpinned by the high level of confidence domestic and international travellers have in Airbnb.”
According to other reports and studies, it is estimated that guests using Airbnb have contributed over $1.6 billion in GDP on the Australian economy on cafes, restaurants, attractions and accommodation in 2015-2016, supporting over 14,000 jobs nationally and provide a valuable source of revenue to many everyday Australians (according to Deloitte Access Economics). It is these material benefits of Airbnb listings coupled with the high yields in a stressed property investor environment that makes people so willing to list on Airbnb.
The Short Stay Confidence survey is conducted on a quarterly basis to track the evolving sentiment towards Airbnb from everyday Australians in terms of the demand for the Airbnb platform as well as the sentiment of hosts to list their property on short stay platforms.
