THE IMPACT OF AIRBNB ON THE AUSTRALIAN HOUSING MARKET
Dr Laura Hodgson
THIS ARTICLE IS A SUMMARY OF MY PHD RESEARCH TITLED , THE IMPACT OF AIRBNB ON METROPOLITAN AND NON-METROPOLITAN HOUSING MARKETS IN AUSTRALIA , WHICH POSED THE QUESTION , ‘ WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF AIRBNB ON METROPOLITAN AND NON-METROPOLITAN HOUSING AND HOW HAS THIS IMPACT BEEN SHAPED BY GOVERNMENTS ?’ 1 THIS RESEARCH COMMENCED IN 2017 AND WAS SUBMITTED IN 2021 . THREE YEARS ON AND THIS RESEARCH IS JUST AS RELEVANT , IF NOT MORE RELEVANT WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF THE AUSTRALIAN HOUSING MARKET .
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and should not be regarded as representing the views of the authors ’ employers .
INTRODUCTION Australia has one of the least affordable housing markets in the world and Australians have been highly receptive to Airbnb , an online platform which facilitates short-term rental accommodation ( STRA ). Made possible through increasing globalisation and advances in technology , since it was established in 2008 , Airbnb has changed the way people travel and use their homes worldwide . For example , Australian researchers found between July 2016 and January 2019 , 4 % of Australia ’ s housing stock was , or had been , listed on Airbnb . 2 In 2021 , 1 million homes ( 10 % of Australia ’ s housing stock ) were empty on census night , with an estimated 13 million spare bedrooms in Australian homes . 3 While there are many legitimate reasons for homes to be empty on any given night , such as , being listed for sale , recently vacated by tenants , undergoing renovations , this still leaves a significant proportion which are likely under-utilised second homes , Airbnbs or generally vacant investment stock .
This research set out to understand the impact that Airbnb has had on housing markets in Australia , through case studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods . The case studies consisted of two regions in New South Wales ( NSW ) each with three neighbouring local government areas ( LGAs ). The first was metropolitan and included the City of Sydney , Waverly Council and Randwick City Council and the second was nonmetropolitan and included three Northern Rivers LGAs , Byron Shire Council , Ballina Shire Council and Lismore City Council .
This summary piece of my PhD research will briefly introduce how Airbnb can further exacerbate Australia ’ s housing affordability challenges and highlight some
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