Buy an Airbnb (Investment Property) in Ballina
We find, check and secure Ballina homes that can earn as short stays, then set them up for their first guest. Every property is checked against the local short-stay approval rules and real booking demand before you sign. Prefer a long-term rental? We buy those too, and test every Airbnb against its long-term rent so you always know your fallback.
Can you buy and run an Airbnb in Ballina Shire? Yes, with a limit. A non-hosted whole home in the Ballina area can be let for no more than 180 days a year (bookings of 21 days or more don't count), while hosted stays have no cap. In the last 12 months 3-bedroom houses sold at a $890,000 median in Ballina, $1,402,500 in Lennox Head and $900,000 in Alstonville, and 2-bedroom units in Ballina sold at $667,500. We test every property against the 180-day cap before you buy.
What could this Ballina home earn?
Found a property you like? Enter its address and see what similar short-stay homes nearby are earning, so you know whether the price stacks up before you offer.
- Yearly gross estimate from homes like it nearby
- Nightly rate and occupancy across the year
- Compared with long-term rent so you see the fallback
Revenue calculator
Want to check the Airbnb revenue potential?
Open the calculator and run a quick short-term rental revenue estimate without leaving this page.
Ballina prices by suburb and bedrooms
Median sale prices and weekly long-term rents over the last 12 months. Pick a bedroom count, or turn on Compare and add as many as you like.
3-bedroom house in Ballina · turn on Compare to add more bedroom counts
3 bedrooms
- Sales, 12 months
- 63
- Long-term rent
- $780 / wk
- Rent a year
- $40,560
- Gross yield
- 4.6%
- Price growth, 5 yrs
- +3.5% a yr
See every bedroom count in one table
| Houses | Units | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedrooms | Median price | Sales | Rent / week | Median price | Sales | Rent / week |
| 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | $1,010,000 | 3 | $950 | — | — | — |
| 4 | $1,150,000 | 23 | $850 | — | — | — |
| 3 | $890,000 | 63 | $780 | $842,500 | 8 | $765 |
| 2 | $760,000 | 8 | $620 | $667,500 | 55 | $600 |
| 1 | — | — | — | $475,000 | 3 | $450 |
* Fewer than 5 sales, so treat the median as a guide only. Source: Stash Property, publicly available listing data, 12 months from 1 October 2025. Figures in AUD.
Who lives here, and how the market is moving
The figures a buyer should check before choosing a suburb. The Market card follows the Houses / Units and bedroom buttons above; People and Housing cover the whole suburb.
Market · 3-bed houses
- Median price
- $890,000
- Sales, 12 months
- 63
- Price growth, 12 months
- +10.3%
- Price growth, 5 years
- +3.5% a yr
- Days on market
- 41 days
- Leases, 12 months
- 68
- Days to lease
- 20 days
- Rental vacancy, all houses
- 0.3%
- Houses for sale, all sizes (Sep 2026)
- 30
People · whole suburb
- Population
- 9,735+2.0% over 5 years
- Aged 65 and over
- 38%
- Median household income
- $1,013 / week
- Advantage ranking
- 21st percentileof Australian suburbs (SEIFA)
- Distance to Tweed Heads
- 73 km
Housing · whole suburb
- Owner occupied
- 53%
- Rented
- 44%
- Social housing
- 10.2%
- New homes approved, 12 months
- 127 houses · 5 units
- Median rent, 2021 Census
- $360 / week
- Rental vacancy under 1% means a strong long-term rental fallback if you ever stop short-stay letting.
- A low owner-occupier share and lots of new approvals can mean more competing rentals. Check both.
- Days on market shows how quickly you could sell. Fewer days means an easier exit.
ABS Census 2021, ABS Estimated Resident Population, ABS Building Approvals (last 12 months, SA2) and ABS SEIFA 2021, as cited by Stash Property
Long-term rent is your fallback
A 3-bedroom house in Ballina rents for $31,200 to $97,500 a year long term, depending on the suburb. A short stay only makes sense if it clears that comfortably after cleaning, platform and management costs, which is why we test both before you buy.
Follows the Houses / Units and bedroom buttons above. Turn on Compare to see several bedroom counts side by side.
| Suburb | Vacancyall houses | 3-bed rent a year | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alstonville | 0.4% | $38,324$737/wk | 4.3% |
| Ballina | 0.3% | $40,560$780/wk | 4.6% |
| Broken Head | 2.1% | $97,500$1,875/wk | 3.5% |
| Brooklet | 1.4% | $70,200$1,350/wk | — |
| Cumbalum | 0.9% | $41,600$800/wk | 4.5% |
| Dalwood | 0.6% | $40,560$780/wk | — |
| East Ballina | 0.5% | $42,640$820/wk | 3.4% |
| East Wardell | 0.7% | $36,400$700/wk | 4.2% |
| Empire Vale | 2.9% | $43,524$837/wk | 5.1% |
| Fernleigh | 1.4% | $56,160$1,080/wk | — |
| Keith Hall | 2.2% | $31,200$600/wk | 3.4% |
| Lennox Head | 0.5% | $46,800$900/wk | 3.3% |
| Lynwood | 3.3% | $53,300$1,025/wk | 6.9% |
| McLeans Ridges | 0.4% | $36,140$695/wk | — |
| Meerschaum Vale | 1.9% | $40,560$780/wk | — |
| Pearces Creek | 0.8% | $44,720$860/wk | — |
| Pimlico | 0.0% | $36,400$700/wk | 4.0% |
| Skennars Head | 1.5% | $49,400$950/wk | 3.9% |
| Tintenbar | 1.6% | $56,680$1,090/wk | 3.9% |
| Tuckombil | 0.0% | $40,040$770/wk | — |
| Wardell | 0.3% | $41,080$790/wk | 5.3% |
| West Ballina | 0.5% | $39,260$755/wk | 4.7% |
| Wollongbar | 0.7% | $36,400$700/wk | 4.3% |
Ballina short-stay rules for buyers
Taken from the same verified council audit as our Ballina management page. Open a question for the detail and the official source.
YESDo I need to register an Airbnb in NSW?
Yes. Every short-term rental in NSW must be on the NSW STRA Register before it is advertised. A new registration costs $65 and the annual renewal costs $25. The STRA property ID (PID-STRA) must be shown on every online listing.
We check the registration and fire-safety steps for a buyer before settlement, so the home can be listed soon after you get the keys.
NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure — Short-term rental accommodation ↗
NOCan a non-hosted Airbnb in Ballina run all year?
No. Non-hosted short-term rental in Ballina Shire is limited to 180 days a year; Council chose this cap rather than the 365 days open to other regional councils. Bookings of 21 consecutive days or more don't count towards the 180 days, and hosted stays (you live there while guests stay) have no limit.
We model each property's income within the 180-day cap before you buy.
NODo I need a development application for an Airbnb in Ballina?
Usually no. Ballina Shire Council says short-term rental is allowed without council approval when the dwelling was lawfully built for housing, housing is permitted on the land, the home is on the STRA Register, it meets the fire-safety standard and, for a strata lot, the by-laws allow it. It is not allowed in uses such as boarding houses, seniors housing, caravan parks or moveable dwellings.
We check the approvals and use of the exact property before you buy.
CHECKWhat safety rules must an Airbnb meet in NSW?
Every NSW short-term rental must meet the STRA Fire Safety Standard: compliant smoke alarms (interconnected where there is more than one) and an evacuation diagram at the entry and in each bedroom. Apartments also need a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket in the kitchen. Hosts must follow the mandatory Code of Conduct and confirm fire-safety compliance when they register.
We check what a property needs to comply, and what that will cost, before you make an offer.
CHECKCan a strata building ban Airbnb in NSW?
Yes, in part. A NSW strata scheme can adopt a by-law that bans short-term rental in a lot that is not the host's principal place of residence. So a unit or townhouse investment can be blocked by its by-laws even when council and state rules allow it.
We read the strata by-laws and recent meeting minutes for any unit or townhouse before you commit.
NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure — Short-term rental accommodation ↗
From brief to first booking
Brief
Budget, suburbs, bedrooms, and how much you will use it yourself.
Shortlist
On-market and off-market homes, each with a short-stay revenue check.
Rules check
Planning, council approval category, by-laws, pool and fire compliance.
Negotiate
Price, conditions and settlement terms, with approval risk built in.
Launch
Setup, listing and pricing so it can take bookings soon after settlement.
Also buying near Ballina
Buying an Airbnb or investment property in Ballina FAQs
Can I run an Airbnb in Ballina Shire?
Yes. The home must be on the NSW STRA Register and meet fire safety. Non-hosted short-term rental is capped at 180 days a year in Ballina Shire; bookings of 21 consecutive days or more don't count towards the cap, and hosted stays have no limit. Council says no development application is needed when the dwelling is lawful and the strata by-laws allow it.
Which Ballina suburbs are best for an Airbnb investment?
It depends on budget and the guests you want. By sales volume, Ballina, Lennox Head, Alstonville, East Ballina and Wollongbar were the most active. 3-bedroom houses sold at medians of $890,000 in Ballina, $1,402,500 in Lennox Head, $1,256,250 in East Ballina, $900,000 in Alstonville and $855,000 in Wollongbar.
What could an Airbnb in Ballina earn?
It depends on the suburb, the property and how many of the 180 non-hosted nights you can fill. We model each home's likely nightly rate and occupancy from live comparable Airbnb listings before you buy, rather than quoting an area figure.
Does a buyer's agent need a licence in Ballina?
Yes. In NSW a buyer's agent must hold a real estate licence (or work under a licensed agent's certificate of registration). Wealth Through Property is licensed in NSW and Queensland; in other states and territories we work through licensed partner agents.
What does Wealth Through Property charge as a buyer's agent?
See Our Fees on our Airbnb buyer's agent page (wealth-through-property.com.au/airbnb-buyers-agent/). We confirm the fee in writing before we start, and we don't quote fees on location pages because the scope differs from brief to brief.
What if I let the home long term instead?
The long-term market is tight. 3-bedroom houses leased at a $780 a week median in Ballina, $900 in Lennox Head and $737 in Alstonville, and Stash shows house vacancy of 0.3% in Ballina and 0.5% in Lennox Head. That gives a fallback if short-stay rules or demand change.
Find a home that can earn before you buy it.
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