Sydney’s ghost suburbs where homes are empty

More than a third of the homes in parts of Sydney are sitting unoccupied as families grapple with the housing crisis. See which areas have become ghost suburbs

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“Ghost rentals” – under-utilised properties that sit unoccupied for much of the year – could be on the rise as more homeowners ditch permanent tenants for cashed up holiday-makers.

Other homeowners have been reported to be skimping rent altogether, keeping their properties empty year-round in what’s been labelled a crippling blow to efforts to solve the rental housing shortage.

The most recent count from the ABS, collated by PropTrack, revealed close to a third of the properties in some suburbs were not permanently occupied, with the homes unavailable as long-term rental stock.

But experts said the true number of homes without a long-term occupier could be much higher in some areas.

They pointed to the substantial amount of rental stock that had become short-term accommodation since the ABS count three years ago, performed while international borders were shut due to Covid.

Tenants Hayley Barnett and Kirby Pascoe said rental availablity was a problem and knowing homes that could be rented were empty was frustrating. Picture: Tim Hunter.

It comes as newly published figures showed available rental stock dwindled to record lows this year at a time of record population growth, sending rents into the stratosphere.

The average Sydney rental is about 40 per cent pricier than it was in 2021, equivalent to a rise of about $180 per week, according to PropTrack.

Over this time, the share of rental properties advertised at under $400 a week has dropped from 22.7 per cent of all listings four years ago to just 3.8 per cent.

Suburbs where close to a third of the homes were not permanently occupied included Palm Beach, The Rocks and Millers Point.

About one in 10 of the homes were not permanently occupied in Bondi Beach, North Sydney, Darlinghurst, Forest Lodge, Manly, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay, among others.

Under-utilised properties were also common in the west, with a similar proportion – just under one in 10 – not permanently occupied in St Marys, Penrith and Kingswood.

Many of these homes were used as pricey holiday accommodation, often after previously being available for long-term tenants.

Others were sitting empty altogether, with Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee noting that homeowners who had inherited their homes often kept them unoccupied.

This was often while they sorted out their financial affairs or while disputes between family members about what should be done with the property were resolved, she said.

Tenants’ Union of NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross said those who kept functional homes completely vacant often owned them fully.

This Glenmore Park house was listed for regular lease at $500 per week in 2020. It’s now about $3000 per week as short-term accommodation.

“Most homeowners make their money on the capital gain, not the rent, and there would be owners who prefer to avoid the hassle of tenants,” he said.

Mr Patterson Ross added that long-term rentals becoming short-term holiday homes was a more common occurrence.

“When vacancy rates are as low as they are at just 1 per cent, every bit of rental stock makes a difference,” he said.

Listing analysis showed many of the property owners who did switch their homes to short-term accommodation often did so with a substantial rent increase.

A Schofields house listed as a long-term rental at $700 per week last year was recently listed as holiday accommodation at about $2000 week.

It was a similar story with a Marsden Park house on Callaghan St listed for long-term lease at $750 per week in 2023 and relisted as a holiday home for nearly $2000 a week.

This Schofields houses was listed for $700 per week in 2023, but is now $2062 per week as a short term rental.

It’s worth noting that short-term stays do come with some increased costs to the homeowner and few holiday renters secure occupants for the full year.

Mr Patterson Ross said local councils had some scope to bring many of these holiday rentals back to the larger rental pool.

“The reality is that it will be impossible to get all the rentals that have been lost back, but any we can get back will make a difference,” he said.

Homes considered “unoccupied” by the ABS included newly-built properties awaiting approval, or the opposite, established homes set for to be knocked down and replaced. They also included properties used as secondary homes.

Renter Kirby Pascoe recently learned from neighbours that her current rental was unoccupied for years before her housemates moved in.

The lack of rental housing made renting challenging and knowing some houses were vacant was frustrating, she said, adding that her rent was up $150 per week from 18 months ago.

“They’ve already paid this property off,” she said. “The landlord clearly doesn’t need the money to pay off the mortgage. My rent is going up because they’ve decided it’s going up, not because of interest rates.”

Originally published as Sydney’s ghost suburbs where homes are empty