BLUE MOUNTAINS: APR/MAY 30/51 RENTALS FOR TENANTS / 1,165 ACTIVE AIRBNBs

SQM Research is “an investment research house which specialises in providing accurate research and data to financial institutions”. Their published figures for April and May 2022 show residential vacancy rates in the Blue Mountains region at 30 and 51 homes respectively. The ‘Asking Weekly Rent – All Houses’ was $539-550. AirDNA, a “leading provider of data and analytics for the $140 billion short-term rental industry”, has 1,165 ‘active rentals’ for the Blue Mountains – ‘Average Daily Rate’ $265-$328.

Geoffrey Bott, owner of Blue Mountains Getaways – 57 Airbnb listings – reportedly told the Blue Mountains Gazette the NSW Department of Planning regulations on short-term rentals “has been poorly thought out – the system is not designed to cope with restriction…If you have been renting your property out for say 220 nights and you have been doing this for years, it is an unreasonable and unfair restriction of trade to cut it back to 180 nights”. According to Mr Bott, “you will get advice from the Department of Planning and will have to manually close down all available dates in your system – and that’s providing they are all synchronised. If you are doing this all manually it’s a complete pain”. He told the publication, “a group of Byron Bay holiday let owners have mounted a court case protesting the limit”.

The Blue Mountains Gazette quotes a spokesperson for the Department of Planning and Environment – we kid you not:

“Our Short-Term Rental Accommodation policy provides consistency to a previously unregulated industry, and balances the positive economic impacts of holiday homes with the need to support local housing markets, and improves housing availability and affordability…”

Blue Mountains Escapes, located in Blackheath, is a “licensed Agent specialising in holiday accommodation only”. Sue Still is Senior Property Manager – Holiday Rentals. According to her Linkedin profile, she “purchased Blue Mountains Escapes in 2009 then sold the business and (is) now working for the new owners”. The company lists 30 homes on its website – 27 Airbnb listings.

Accommodated, have 25 holiday rentals (24 listed on Airbnb). Run by ‘Heidi & Luke’, contact is via ‘phone, sms and email’ only.

Located in Kurrajong Heights is iRIS Property. Currently they have no homes available for residential tenancies however, they do operate 24 homes as holiday rentals – all 24 are listed on Airbnb.

We could of course expand on this list; suffice to say…

Airbnb refuses to publish the address of homes operating as unstaffed commercial hotels in residential areas. Blue Mountains Getaways has been featured in the mainstream media, so we thought we would print the addresses of their commercial rentals. (Airbnb could point to any errors?) We might also ask the Department of Planning to check the license numbers listed to verify that these are correct.

BLUE MOUNTAINS GETAWAYS:

Airbnb – 28 The Spires - PID-STRA-108 – 28/100 Luera Mall, Leura

Airbnb – Allambee - PID-STRA-110 – 67 Cascade Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Arcadia Cottage - PID-STRA-113 – 31 Kamillario Road, Katoomba

Airbnb - Baileys Retreat - PID-STRA-114 – 19 Wentworth Street, Leura

Airbnb – Berdea - PID-STRA-115 – 56 Grose Street, Leura

Airbnb – Boobook Hollow - PID-STRA-116 – 66 First Avenue, Katoomba

Airbnb – Brigalow Cottage - PID-STRA-117 – 99 Megalong Street, Leura

Airbnb – Shirri Mirri - PID-STRA-118 – 108 Sublime Point Road, Leura

Airbnb – Bunyip Cottage - PID-STRA-118 – 11 Selby Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Carinya Cottage - PID-STRA-119 – 19 Albion Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Clervaux Cottage - PID-STRA-120 – 214 Govetts Leap Road, Blackheath

Airbnb – Cooee Cottage - PID-STRA-122 – 22 Minyago Street, Blackheath

Airbnb – Leura Fairways West - PID-STRA-126 – 19 Fitzroy Street, Leura

Airbnb – Leura Fairways East - PID-STRA-126 – 19 Fitzroy Street, Leura

Airbnb – Garden Cottage - PID-STRA-127 – 21 Herbert Street, Leura

Airbnb – Geebung Cottage - PID-STRA-128 – 74 Carlton Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Golfers Delight - PID-STRA-129 – 41 Cedar Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Highview - PID-STRA-131 – 21 West Street, Leura

Airbnb – Jarara Cottage - PID-STRA-132 – 77 Peckmans Road, Katoomba

Airbnb – Keira Cottage - PID-STRA-133 – 21 Lett Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Kits Coty - PID-STRA-134 – 47 Lurline Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Lavender Cottage - PID-STRA-135 – 2/9 Chelsford Avenue, Blackheath

Airbnb – Minnehaha - PID-STRA-138 – 49 Fifth Avenue, Katoomba

Airbnb – Moonya Lodge - PID-STRA-140 – 10 Beaufort Avenue, Mount Victoria

Airbnb - Narrow Neck Lodge - PID-STRA-141 – 41 Narrow Neck Road, Katoomba

Airbnb – Observatory Cottage - PID-STRA-142 – 94 Rawson Parade, Leura

Airbnb – Pin High - PID-STRA-144 – 2/9 Chelmsford Avenue, Blackheath

Airbnb – Pretty Haven - PID-STRA-145 – 8 Coomassie Street, Leura

Airbnb – Ruki Maja - PID-STRA-146 – 1A Bourne Street, Wentworth Falls

Airbnb – Scribbly Gum - PID-STRA-147 – 40 Rawson Parade, Leura

Airbnb – Selah Cottage - PID-STRA-148 – 110 Cliff Drive, Katoomba

Airbnb – Snug Cottage - PID-STRA-150 – 9 Stuarts Road, Katoomba

Airbnb – Solitary View - PID-STRA-151 – 16 Somerville Street, Wentworth Falls

Airbnb – Summer House - PID-STRA-152 – 90 Fletcher Street, Wentworth Falls

Airbnb – Sunnyside - PID-STRA-153 – 17A Neal Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Sunrise House - PID-STRA-154 – 5 Ferguson Avenue, Hazelbrook

Airbnb – Swanbrook - PID-STRA-155 – 10 Chatsworth Road, Mount Victoria

Airbnb – Tranquil Haven - PID-STRA-156 – 45 West Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Wentworth Rose - PID-STRA-158 – 19A Blaxland Road, Wentworth Falls. 2782

Airbnb – White Cottage - PID-STRA-159 – 34 Nelson Avenue, Wentworth Falls

Airbnb – Wisteria Cottage - PID-STRA-160 – 4 Kundibar Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Bluebell Cottage - PID-STRA-170 – 61 Mount Street, Leura

Airbnb – Yellow Cottage - PID-STRA-13637 – 13 Dulhunty Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Studio Four - PID-STRA-20515 – 4/7 Westend Street, Katoomba

Airbnb – Scenic Cottage - PID-STRA-24023 – 107 Cliff Drive, Katoomba

Airbnb – Grey Gum Lodge - PID-STRA-28705 – 9 Grey Gum Drive, Woodford

Airbnb – Studio 92 - PID-STRA-30335 – 92/100 Leura Mall, Leura

Airbnb – Apartment 91 - PID-STRA-30337 – 91/100 Leura Mall, Leura

Airbnb – Whispering Pines - PID-STRA-30341 – 29 Stuarts Road, Katoomba

Airbnb - Leura Country Cottage - PID-STRA-30701 – 9 Balmoral Road, Leura

Airbnb – Luxmi Vasal - PID-STRA-33122 – 28 Second Avenue, Katoomba

Airbnb – Dreamwood - PID-STRA-34715 – 64 Waratah Avenue, Katoomba

Airbnb – Amour Lodge - PID-STRA-34892 – 12 Jamieson Street, Leura

Airbnb – Horseshoe Falls Cottage - PID-STRA-35168 – 59A Oaklands Road, Hazelbrook

Airbnb - Sieberi Escape - PID-STRA-35628 – 31 Essendene Road, Kayoomba

Airbnb – Mountain Nest - PID-STRA-36154 – 5 Norwood Street, Leura

Airbnb – Magpie Cottage - PID-STRA-36271 – 13 Coomonderry Street, Leura

The Minister responsible for Planning and Homes in New South Wales – Anthony Roberts – must immediately rescind Rob Stokes’ (Affordable Rental Housing) (Short-term Rental Accommodation) 2021. Local Councils must be mandated to enforce residential planning, zoning or approval to prevent short-term commercial letting of housing. The proliferation of these properties is a huge problem for housing affordability/availability, for neighbouring residents and for legitimate tourism accommodation providers.

Homes not Hotels Communities not Transit Zones #Right2Housing People before Profits

Neighbours not Strangers