Airbnb during COVID-19 and what this tells us about Airbnb’s Impact on Rental Prices

Abstract

This study assesses how an overall decline in Airbnb activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic has affected rental supply and prices in Sydney. Using a comprehensive record of Airbnb listings and rental sales data, we study how Airbnb activity and the rental market has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that in active Airbnb neighbourhoods, the supply of long-term rental stock has increased in response to reduced Airbnb activity, whereas rental supply has fallen in inactive Airbnb neighbourhoods. Our results indicate that rental prices have fallen proportionately with Airbnb activity, up to 7.1% in the most active Airbnb neighbourhoods.