What short-stay yields are telling investors
Nightly rates and occupancy decide whether a short-stay property beats a long-term lease — and the gap between the two is widening in some markets while it quietly closes in others.
Airbnb — the short-stay market, read for you every morning.
Nightly rates and occupancy decide whether a short-stay property beats a long-term lease — and the gap between the two is widening in some markets while it quietly closes in others.
Where demand for short stays is rising, where it's cooling, and the seasonal patterns worth planning around.
Caps, levies and council decisions on short-stay letting — the risk that can change an investment case overnight.
Ranked the Homly way: what the market earns, how full the calendar stays, and how friendly the rules are. National baseline for context: roughly 62% occupancy, a $318 average nightly rate, revenue up about 3% on the year while supply grew nearly 13% — more hosts fighting for roughly the same pie. The markets below are where the numbers still stack up.
| № | Market | Why it works | Past 12 months | Next 12 months — our read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Margaret River–BusseltonWestern Australia | Wine-and-surf country with the deepest guest demand in Australia and light rules outside the Perth metro. | 60.8% occupancy — national leader · ~$4,100/mo revenue | ▲ Leaning up. Thin supply, deep demand, and WA keeps regulation light down south. |
| 02 | WhitsundaysQueensland | Reef tourism gives hosts the strongest pricing power in the country. | $536/night ADR · $6,334/mo — Australia's revenue king | ▲ Leaning up. Premium demand holds; budget honestly for seasonality and insurance. |
| 03 | Cottesloe & Perth coastWestern Australia | Beachside Perth is running the highest short-stay occupancy tracked anywhere in the world. | 65.7% occupancy · ~$4,400/mo revenue | ▲ Up — with a catch: unhosted stays beyond 90 nights a year in Perth metro need council approval. Plan around it. |
| 04 | Adelaide & BarossaSouth Australia | City demand plus wine-country weekends under the lightest rules in the country. | Adelaide 48.1% occupancy · Tanunda $3,428/mo tops SA | ▲ Leaning up. Every tracked SA market rates low-regulation, and entry prices are still sane. |
| 05 | Greater BrisbaneQueensland | Scale, steady demand, and a 2032 Olympics build-up that has already started. | 47.5% occupancy · $2,320/mo · 5,000+ listings | → Flat, leaning up. New council permits from July 2026 add friction — compliant operators come out ahead. |
| 06 | SydneyNew South Wales | Year-round international demand no other Australian city can match. | Revenue +11% YoY · $33,065/yr average · 47.9% occupancy | → Flat-to-up. The 180-day unhosted cap keeps a lid on it; hosted setups and 21-night-plus stays sit outside the cap. |
| 07 | Byron BayNew South Wales | Premium coastal brand with the highest earnings in NSW — and the harshest cap in the country. | $444/night · $4,138/mo · shire listings down ~15% since the cap | ▼ Down outside the exempt precincts (60-day cap bites). ▲ Up inside Byron town centre and Brunswick Heads, which keep 365-day rights. |
| 08 | ToowoombaQueensland | Queensland's quiet achiever — regional business and events demand without the tourist-town price tag. | 54.2% occupancy — QLD's occupancy leader · $2,343/mo | → Steady. Nothing flashy coming either way — which is exactly its appeal. |
| 09 | MelbourneVictoria | Australia's biggest short-stay market, with an events calendar that never stops. | 16,229 listings · 42.6% occupancy · $2,089/mo · listing growth stalled | ▼ Leaning down on net yield. The 7.5% short-stay levy plus strata ban powers squeeze margins even while demand holds. |
| 10 | Thredbo & Snowy MountainsNew South Wales | The seasonal specialist — the state's highest nightly rates when the snow falls. | $518/night — NSW's top ADR · 26.3% occupancy | → Season-dependent. Winter carries the whole year; only buy it knowing that. |
Figures: AirROI trailing-12-month market data (updated June 2026) and the Airbtics 2026 Australia report. Regulation detail from NSW Planning, the Victorian State Revenue Office framework and state guides. Outlooks are our general read of demand, supply and regulation — general information only, not advice. Markets can and do surprise.