Buy an Airbnb (Investment Property) in Sydney
We find, check and secure Sydney 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 I buy an Airbnb in Sydney?** Yes, but it depends on how you run it. Every short-term rental must be on the NSW STRA Register, and an unhosted Airbnb in Greater Sydney is limited to 180 days a year, so the long-term rent has to work for the rest of the year. Over the last 12 months the median 2-bedroom unit sold for $650,000 in Parramatta, $1,350,000 in the Sydney CBD and $1,805,500 in Bondi Beach, while a 3-bedroom house in Penrith sold for $965,000.
What could this Sydney 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.
Sydney 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 Blacktown · turn on Compare to add more bedroom counts
3 bedrooms
- Sales, 12 months
- 261
- Long-term rent
- $650 / wk
- Rent a year
- $33,800
- Gross yield
- 3.3%
- Price growth, 5 yrs
- +6.7% 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 | $1,355,000 | 41 | $937 | — | — | — |
| 4 | $1,235,000 | 112 | $780 | — | — | — |
| 3 | $1,031,000 | 261 | $650 | $658,500 | 18 | $700 |
| 2 | $917,000 | 32 | $550 | $464,000 | 224 | $565 |
| 1 | — | — | — | $440,000 | 15 | $460 |
* 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
- $1,031,000
- Sales, 12 months
- 261
- Price growth, 12 months
- +6.3%
- Price growth, 5 years
- +6.7% a yr
- Days on market
- 30 days
- Leases, 12 months
- 592
- Days to lease
- 24 days
- Rental vacancy, all houses
- 1.3%
- Houses for sale, all sizes (Sep 2026)
- 184
People · whole suburb
- Population
- 50,961+3.0% over 5 years
- Aged 65 and over
- 13%
- Median household income
- $1,774 / week
- Advantage ranking
- 38th percentileof Australian suburbs (SEIFA)
- Distance to Sydney
- 30 km
Housing · whole suburb
- Owner occupied
- 53%
- Rented
- 45%
- Social housing
- 4.4%
- New homes approved, 12 months
- 317195 houses · 122 units
- Median rent, 2021 Census
- $400 / 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) and ABS SEIFA 2021, via Stash Property
Long-term rent is your fallback
A 3-bedroom house in Sydney rents for $30,680 to $104,000 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bankstown | 0.6% | $40,560$780/wk | 3.1% |
| Blacktown | 1.3% | $33,800$650/wk | 3.3% |
| Bondi Beach | 0.7% | $96,200$1,850/wk | 2.6% |
| Burwood | 0.6% | $52,000$1,000/wk | 2.2% |
| Campbelltown | 1.3% | $32,240$620/wk | 3.4% |
| Castle Hill | 1.4% | $45,760$880/wk | 2.9% |
| Chatswood | 0.8% | $67,600$1,300/wk | 2.4% |
| Cronulla | 0.7% | $71,240$1,370/wk | 2.7% |
| Fairfield | 0.8% | $35,100$675/wk | 3.3% |
| Gordon | 1.7% | $65,000$1,250/wk | 3.6% |
| Hornsby | 0.7% | $45,240$870/wk | 3.0% |
| Hunters Hill | 1.7% | $67,444$1,297/wk | 2.2% |
| Hurstville | 0.4% | $43,160$830/wk | 2.7% |
| Katoomba | 0.8% | $33,800$650/wk | 3.9% |
| Lane Cove | 0.7% | $65,000$1,250/wk | 2.8% |
| Liverpool | 0.6% | $36,400$700/wk | 3.3% |
| Manly | 0.4% | $103,740$1,995/wk | 2.3% |
| Merrylands | 1.1% | $39,000$750/wk | 3.2% |
| Mosman | 1.3% | $93,600$1,800/wk | 3.2% |
| Newtown | 0.5% | $65,000$1,250/wk | 3.1% |
| North Sydney | 0.2% | $68,900$1,325/wk | 2.5% |
| Parramatta | 0.2% | $39,000$750/wk | 3.1% |
| Penrith | 0.7% | $32,240$620/wk | 3.3% |
| Picton | 0.9% | $30,680$590/wk | 3.4% |
| Randwick | 0.6% | $83,200$1,600/wk | 2.8% |
| Rockdale | 0.3% | $47,840$920/wk | 2.9% |
| Ryde | 0.6% | $48,100$925/wk | 2.4% |
| Strathfield | 1.1% | $52,000$1,000/wk | 1.7% |
| Sydney | 0.0% | $76,700$1,475/wk | — |
| Woollahra | 1.7% | $104,000$2,000/wk | 2.3% |
Sydney short-stay rules for buyers
Taken from the same verified council audit as our Sydney 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 state's STRA Register, after the host confirms the home meets the fire-safety standard and agrees to the mandatory Code of Conduct. A new registration costs $65 and renews each year for $25. Booking platforms must show the registration number on the listing. Before you buy, WTP checks that the home can meet the fire-safety standard (evacuation plan and interconnected smoke alarms) so it can be registered.
YESIs there a limit on how many nights I can Airbnb in Sydney?
Yes, for unhosted stays. Under the NSW exempt pathway an Airbnb in Greater Sydney where the host is not living there is limited to 180 days a year, counted in each 12-month registration period. Bookings of 21 nights or more do not count towards the cap, and hosted stays (you live there while guests stay) have no 180-day cap. WTP models every purchase on 180 nights of short stays plus mid-term or long-term rent for the rest of the year, so the numbers still work inside the cap.
CHECKCan strata by-laws or a development consent stop an Airbnb?
They can. The exempt pathway covers lawfully built homes in all land-use zones, with some exceptions, but NSW Planning notes that development consent conditions or strata by-laws may still restrict short-term rental, and tells hosts to check with the council and the owners corporation. WTP reads the strata by-laws, the strata minutes and any consent conditions for an apartment or townhouse before you make an offer.
YESWhat does the NSW Code of Conduct ask of an Airbnb host?
The Code is mandatory for hosts, guests, booking platforms and letting agents. Hosts must hold third-party injury and death liability insurance, be contactable in business hours and for emergencies, give guests emergency contacts and a copy of the Code and any by-laws, and tell the owners corporation and next-door neighbours that the home is used for short-term rental. Serious breaches can lead to strikes and a listing on the exclusion register. WTP sets up insurance, the contact plan and the neighbour notices as part of the handover after settlement.
NSW Government: Code of Conduct for the short-term rental accommodation industry ↗
CHECKAre the Sydney Airbnb rules about to change?
Possibly. The NSW Government is reviewing its short-term rental framework, and in February 2025 the City of Sydney asked the state for tighter registration and enforcement. A move to cut the 180-day cap to 90 days or less was voted down at that meeting, so the 180-day cap still stands. WTP rechecks the current rules at the date you sign, and models every purchase on the long-term rent as well so a rule change does not break the numbers.
City of Sydney: Houses for Homes (Short-Term Rental) decision, 17 February 2025 ↗
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 Sydney
Buying an Airbnb or investment property in Sydney FAQs
Can I run an Airbnb in Sydney?
Yes, in most cases. Register the home on the NSW STRA Register, meet the fire-safety standard and follow the mandatory Code of Conduct. An unhosted Airbnb is limited to 180 days a year in Greater Sydney (bookings of 21 nights or more are not counted), and hosted stays have no 180-day cap. Strata by-laws or consent conditions can add limits, so we check them for each address.
Which Sydney suburbs suit an Airbnb investor?
It depends on your budget, the guests you want and whether you want a house or a unit. Of the suburbs on this page with at least 20 sales, 1-bedroom units in Merrylands ($445,000 median, 7.0% gross yield), Parramatta ($502,500) and Liverpool ($420,000) had the highest long-term rental yields. Coastal and harbour suburbs such as Bondi Beach, Manly and Mosman cost more and yield less on long-term rent. We test short-stay demand street by street.
What does an Airbnb earn in Sydney?
It depends on the exact home, its size, its location and the 180-day cap for unhosted stays. Use the earnings estimate on this page for a property you are looking at, and we will check it against comparable short-stay homes nearby before you offer.
Does a buyer's agent need a licence in NSW?
Yes. A buyer's agent must be licensed in the state where they act. Wealth Through Property is licensed for buyer's agent work in NSW and Queensland, so we act for you directly here. In other states we work through licensed local partners.
What does WTP charge as a buyer's agent?
Our buyer's agent fees are set out on our buyer's agent page and confirmed in writing before you sign anything. Start a buying brief and we will send the fee and the scope for your purchase.
What if the Airbnb plan does not work out?
You can lease it long-term. Median rents on homes leased over the last 12 months were $700 a week for a 2-bedroom unit in Parramatta (unit vacancy 1.5%) and $620 for a 3-bedroom house in Penrith (house vacancy 0.7%). We show you this fallback for every property before you buy.
Find a home that can earn before you buy it.
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