Jindabyne residents priced out as short-term accommodation booms

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Residents in one of Australia's busiest snow towns say they have been priced out by high property prices and limited housing stock. About one-quarter of homes in Jindabyne are short-term rentals to house snow sports tourists.

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00:00Charlie Steinbacher is familiar with how the town of Jindabyne changes during snow season.

00:09Winter versus summer is like chalk and cheese. I think our population grows almost tenfold in the winter.

00:15More than one quarter of the Jindabyne property stock is made up of short-term rental accommodation.

00:21A lot of houses that just sit vacant for most of the year because they can make so much money through the winter.

00:25The median rent here has risen 35% for houses and nearly 85% for units over the past five years.

00:35I've pretty much been forced to move out to Berredale, which is like a town 20 minutes down the road. It's cheaper.

00:42Well, it's difficult. It's difficult to find anywhere, isn't it?

00:46It's a conversation at the local Country Women's Association meeting.

00:50And there's not a lot of places available for rent. It's really struggling for families.

00:57I know there's quite a lot of families whose kids have had to move away from the area because they can't afford to buy into the Jindabyne market.

01:05I do know quite a number of people in my age group who have moved to Canberra because they just can't afford to live here.

01:13Nancy Gant-Thompson takes on a border each winter.

01:16The New South Wales government is currently reviewing the regulations that deal with short-term rental accommodation.

01:33Last year, the Snowy Monero Regional Council made a submission to the review,

01:38which acknowledged the tourism benefits of short-term rentals, but raised concerns about the impacts on housing affordability.

01:45It also expressed caution about implementing a Byron Bay-style 60-day cap.

01:51Property manager and real estate agent Joan Bird acknowledges Jindabyne is pricey, but says the area relies on tourism.

02:00It's supermarkets, it's restaurants, it's cafes, it's petrol stations, and they help keep our town alive and functioning.

02:09Despite being priced out, Charlie Steinbacher remains committed to his business in town.

02:14I have made a pretty big investment in the area, and I guess I just hope that things change.

02:21The short-term stays with the long-term impact.

02:24The short-term gets lifted, the long-term, is a perfect spirit, Bo's, and also changes with the long-term effect.

02:32The 잠 zamest, which is going to depend on the sea and хочешь within the sea and Mother's.

02:36The fact is, look, it looks tend to be really good, and it's filled at the same time as years as you said,

02:40the co-founders can keeps rising under the sea and systemic

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