Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp wants owners of the nearly 5000 homes and apartments listed on Airbnb in the city to consider shifting their properties on to the long-term rental market.

The City of Melbourne, which includes South Yarra, Carlton, Kensington, Parkville and North Melbourne, as well as the CBD, has a current total of 6222 Airbnb listings, including 4918 entire homes or apartments, according to the open-source database Inside Airbnb.