It’s a bit tricky right now for some Melbourne apartment investors to find tenants amid an oversupply and the current economic conditions.
As landlords are forced to drop rents while the amount of inner city apartments continues to rise, putting pressure on their ability to pay the mortgage, there’s one knight in shining armour that could come and save the day – Airbnb.
Instead of dropping rental rates and struggling to find a long term tenant, landlords could have a good look into the option of using their property as a short term rental through Airbnb.
The movement is already well underway, with the number of Airbnb listings doubling to 16,000 last year.
Quirin Schwaighofer is a founder of property management firm MadeComfy and told Your Investment Property Magazine Airbnb is an alternative to trying to find long term renters.
“It’s an alternative to the conventional rental concept,” he said.
“You have one or two days in between bookings, but you won’t have your apartment empty for a month simply trying to find a tenant who is willing to pay the rent that you need to cover your mortgage.”
Mr Schwaighofer said if you want to use your property as an Airbnb rental, the better your location the better your chances are of success.
“Airbnb renters want to stay somewhere that’s nice, warm, homey and cheaper than a hotel,” he said.
“If your property is in a good location and it is recently renovated, then it is very likely that you will be able to achieve a higher return via Airbnb than with a long term tenant.”
Getting an even better return than a long term tenant would be music to the ears of Melbourne apartment owners struggling to find someone to rent their property in 2017 and is well worth looking into as a viable option.
