Almost a year after the State Government commissioned a review into the impacts of short-term rentals, the report summary has been released and is ‘entirely unsurprising’ according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
The report concluded that short-term rentals were most prevalent in high-tourism coastal areas, and that short-term rentals have a limited impact on rental affordability.
Importantly, the REIQ notes that Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed “The review found no clear alignment between the suburbs with the highest rent increases and the percentage of dwellings devoted to short-term rental. Instead, dwelling stocks emerged as the significant contributor to explaining rental prices.”
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said the report reiterates what we’ve always known – that rental supply is the source of the rental crisis and is what impacts rental affordability.
“How many different times do we need to end up coming to the same conclusion that insufficient rental supply is the root of the issue before it hits home?” Ms Mercorella said.
“This report cements the fact there is no correlation between the prevalence of short-term rentals and nearby long-term rental affordability, and our hope is that it can finally stop distracting government from where their real focus needs to be – addressing supply.”
Ms Mercorella said the REIQ does not support or understand the point of the proposed short-term rental register, given it contradicts the report’s acknowledgement of the limited impact of short-term rentals on the rental market.
“The proposed short-term rental register smacks of using any excuse for the government to collect data on property investors for the purposes of ultimately penalising them through greater regulation and higher rates,” she said.
Ms Mercorella said it certainly wasn’t a new phenomenon to see properties being offered on the short-term market in a holiday hotspot like Queensland – which is and always has been a popular tourist destination.
“This crisis wasn’t caused by people investing in Queensland property or having holiday homes in our state,” she said.
“Planning pitfalls and various obstacles have been holding back our state’s housing supply and pathways to home ownership – and this is absolutely where the government’s focus needs to be to get to the crux of this issue.”
The REIQ has long-supported initiatives that would positively incentivise and encourage people with a holiday home, vacant home, or short-term rental, to bring these properties on to the long-term rental market – rather than imposing forms of punishment.
