Holiday-makers are targeting long-term Surf Coast rentals to lock in permanent getaways for a fraction of the cost of buying a beach house.
In some instances, several families are pooling their cash to sign 12-month leases for properties advertised on the private rental market.
Great Ocean Road Real Estate, Aireys Inlet director James Worssam said they were paying up to $25,000 a year for unrestricted access to a coastal base.
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A recent report found 56 per cent of dwellings in Lorne are unoccupied.
“We have houses where families, and there’s one with at least two families, maybe three, and they just share it,” Mr Worssam said.
“They have a roster system set up as to whose weekend it is at Aireys and it’s a very cost effective way of doing it.
“Let’s say the rental was $25,000 a year – some of these houses for a week over January will go for $4000 or $5000 – so for $25,000 you’ve got house you can use all year and come and go as you like.”
The trend has sounded alarm bells for some, who fear it’s putting further pressure on the Surf Coast’s tight rental market and eroding communities.
A search of properties along the stretch of coast from Anglesea to Lorne this week shows just one house available for $800 a week in Anglesea.
56 Fifth Ave, Anglesea, is currently available to rent for $800 a week.
This two-bedroom unit at 6/5 Cora Lynn Court. Lorne, listed for $665,000, could be a permanent rental or holiday let.
The rental market is particularly challenging in Lorne, where the Surf Coast Shire report found almost a quarter of all dwellings were listed on Airbnb.
The alarming shortfall of rentals for permanent workers has been a longstanding issue in the holiday spot, where vacancy rates are well below the 3 to 4 per cent band experts consider an indication of a balanced market.
The Surf Coast Shire last week signed off on a plan to lobby the State Government for a pilot land tax discount scheme in Lorne in the hope of returning 25 properties to the long-term rental market.
It will also identify public land that could be leased to a housing provider to provide affordable accommodation for permanent workers.
Surf Coast councillor Leon Walker said several approaches had been trialled in the past but the problem persisted.
Surf Coast councillor and Lorne business owner Leon Walker wants to boost affordable housing supply.
“Without affordable housing options, Lorne risks losing the people who keep our community running – our nurses, paramedics, business owners and school teachers,” Mr Walker said.
“Our small businesses will struggle to attract staff, our CFA and SES will face challenges in maintaining active membership and young families will be unable to establish themselves locally.”
Great Ocean Road, Lorne real estate director Ian Stewart said the private rental market didn’t stack up in Lorne, which was driven by lifestyle and leisure buyers.
He said holiday lets still remained a popular option to help cover land tax bills.
“There are those that in are the fortunate position that are able to cover the outgoings no matter what they are, then there are the others that would like to have that asset work in a small way for them where at least it washes the face of the expenses that the asset might incur,” Mr Stewart said.
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