Independent MP concerned rental properties are being swallowed up by Airbnb

With the supply of houses and rental properties being severely outpaced by demand, a regional MP says he is concerned about the number of Airbnbs that have diminished the pool.

With people turning to tents, caravans and cars amid Australia’s housing crisis, a regional MP has taken aim at the number of Airbnbs flooding the market.

It comes as a rent cap bill proposed by the Greens was introduced in state parliament on Wednesday.

Independent Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell labelled the bill a band aid solution and said there would be too many unintended consequences as a result.

“Rent capping in my mind will see less investment in the rental properties market,” Mr Bell said.

“Rental properties will go for a higher amount of rent initially, with (landlords) knowing that they can only put it up a certain percentage after that.”

Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell is concerned about the number of Airbnbs flooding the state’s housing market. Picture: Supplied Troy Bell

Mr Bell said ultimately there needed to be a larger pool of properties in the rental market.

“If we’re going to get serious about the supply of housing, a conversation that we need to start having is about the number of Airbnb properties that are available,” he said.

“In Mount Gambier there’s 250 properties that are listed on Airbnb — traditionally, those properties would have had long term tenants in them.”

Faith Baggio, who manages an Airbnb property in Mount Gambier, said she understood how Airbnb had removed a large number of properties from the pool of available houses.

“I understand the housing crisis in town at the moment — (but) there's obviously a demand for Airbnb otherwise, the people that owned them wouldn’t be able to survive,” she said.

Mrs Baggio said she was still taking regular bookings despite being outside of the peak tourism window.

Faith Baggio's Mount Gambier based Airbnb property. Picture: Airbnb

Though Mr Bell flagged his concern, he was reluctant to comment on what measures he would suggest to limit the number of Airbnbs in Mount Gambier.

“My core philosophy is free enterprise – we’ve got to first of all acknowledge it and then start a conversation around it,” he said.

Key 2 Sale director Al Lamond said before Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the tourism industry, a large number of investors were buying up properties to use as Airbnbs.

“Before (Covid) it was very much high on everyone’s agenda to buy and rent out as an Airbnb,” Mr Lamond said.

Mr Lamond said the median house value had jumped from $300,000 to $380,000 in 12 months, marking the end of Mount Gambier’s affordability for first home buyers.

“I think it’s getting harder for our first home buyers,” Mr Lamond said.

“There shouldn’t be any stamp duty for first home buyers — that would put them in a better position for the marketplace.

“I don’t believe that grants are the best thing because they only push up housing prices.”

Mr Lamond welcomed the state government’s investment into housing trust properties but said more needed to be done to ensure low and affordable houses were not sold off to private business.