House prices have more than doubled in five years. Rental stress has quadrupled. And more than half of homes can be left sitting empty on a winter’s night. Welcome to Tasmania’s east coast, where popular holiday towns have recorded price growth that outstrips the likes of Byron and Noosa.
The Glamorgan-Spring Bay local government area, best known for Freycinet National Park and the stunning Wineglass Bay, recorded the most price growth of any regional council area in the country over the past year. The median house price skyrocketed 65.6 per cent to $828,000 over the year to June, Domain data shows, increasing by $328,000. That compares to a 21 per cent price hike in Hobart.
Prices in the region – covering towns like Bicheno, Swansea, Triabunna, Orford and Coles Bay – jumped 140.5 per cent in the past five years. That was also the largest increase for a regional area, topping the growth of the Byron shire (113.6 per cent) and Noosa (105 per cent).
It was one of six regional areas in Tasmania where prices more than doubled in five years. Demand for homes in the Glamorgan-Spring Bay council area increased during the pandemic, as more tree and sea changers from Tasmania and interstate moved there, and demand for holiday homes increased.
“There are very few homes on the market,” said Mayor Robert Young. “Those that are listing for sale sell very quickly and there are no houses or apartments to rent without real agony.” “[Houses] have seen such a price gain, that a lot of people don’t rent them out, they sell them, or rent them on the short-term letting market.”
The region has long had holiday properties, but this has ticked higher. More than half of homes, 53 per cent, were unoccupied on Census night last August, up from 46.5 per cent in 2001. The population increased by 976 people to 5012 in that time – and by more than 600 people since 2016 – and the number of private dwellings counted increased by more than 1400 to 4,722 homes.
Census data shows the median rental price was $250 per week last August, up from $160 in 2011. The proportion of tenants putting more than 30 percent of income towards rent more than quadrupled in that time, hitting 31.7 per cent.
But there’s no simple solution. Young said any limits or higher taxes on short-term rentals would need to be carefully considered, given some 50 per cent of the municipality’s income was from tourism. Both would like to see more residential development in the area, particularly affordable housing, but new land had been in short supply with rezoning limited by state planning schemes.
Airbnb Australia and New Zealand Country Manager Susan Wheeldon said housing affordability was a really difficult issue not just for people and communities, but also governments looking to tackle the policy challenge. “It’s a complex issue with a range of contributing factors such as population movements, the supply of new homes, the ratio of public housing, interest rates and broader economic conditions.
“While short term rentals generally comprise a tiny proportion of the overall property market, we’re keen to keep finding ways that we can make a positive contribution to this important issue. Short-term rentals also play an incredibly important role in growing Tasmania’s economy and creating jobs for locals - and we want to keep working together with locals on this front.”
