Originally published: News.com.au, 7 November 2026
More than 40 per cent of potential rental homes in one of the city’s hot weather havens are being advertised as short-stay rentals.
Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula is Australia’s short-term rental capital with more than 40 per cent of potential rental homes in one suburb appearing on Airbnb.
But with the rising cost of living, soaring interest rates and heightened land-tax bills and regulatory burdens for landlords, short-stay lease operators are believed to be using the more lucrative rental format to keep up with costs.
Rye is the national capital, with an estimated 44 per cent of rental homes there tied into the platform.
Airbnb research compiled by Pureprofile in September this year found 73 per cent of hosts planned to use the money to help cope with the rising cost of living, with mortgages and bills as well as things like groceries the primary use.
About 37 per cent were planning to put the money towards an emergency fund.
Airbnb also supports emergency housing with Victorians impacted by bushfires earlier this year able to get 59 nights worth of free emergency accommodation.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs said there was a reasonable chance that any increase in the number of homes for rent via short-stay accommodation would be driven by government changes to rules and regulations or rising costs.
