Tenants can expect cheaper rents because of the coronavirus, with slowing immigration and a flood of new rentals putting renters in the driver’s seat…
“Tourists and business travellers typically use a combination of hotels and short-term accommodation, including Airbnb properties, to stay in and around the CBD,” Mr Christopher told The New Daily.
“What we think has happened here is, with the closure of the borders, there are a whole bunch of Airbnb properties with no tenants leasing them whatsoever, so those property owners have decided to give long-term leasing a go.”
International students have vacated rental properties en masse after the government shut borders and universities moved courses online.
Widespread job losses in the arts and hospitality sectors have forced countless younger tenants to move back in with parents.
And the impact of government restrictions on tourism has encouraged many Airbnb hosts to convert holiday lets into long-term rentals.
So much so that the national rental vacancy rate jumped 30 per cent in April, from 2 per cent to 2.6 per cent, according to investment research firm SQM Research.
There are now 88,668 vacant rental properties in Australia, which is more than 11,000 properties higher than in April 2019.
And analysis of capital city rents shows that asking prices for houses have already dipped 1.3 per cent to $537 per week, while asking rent prices for units remained stable at $428.
SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said a significant chunk of the vacancy blowout could be attributed to the conversion of short-term accommodation, including homes listed on Airbnb, to long-term rentals.