Brisbane vs Melbourne: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Brisbane edges ahead of Melbourne on higher occupancy (21.4% vs 16.4%), stronger RevPAR (£31 vs £24).

Head-to-head metrics

	Brisbane	Melbourne
Median occupancy	21.4%	16.4%
Median daily rate	£148	£138
Median RevPAR	£31	£24
Active listings	5,198	15,595
YoY occupancy	-1.6 pts	-1.7 pts
YoY daily rate	+65.3%	—
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Brisbane vs Melbourne

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Brisbane finishes clearly ahead of Melbourne. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 30.2% higher in Brisbane: £31 against £24. Across a full year the median Brisbane listing grosses £11,306 against £8,675 in Melbourne. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

Brisbane takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £148 against £138 — and still fills more of the year, 21.4% against 16.4%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £31 against £24.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Melbourne is not simply the weaker market of the two. Melbourne is the deeper market at 15,595 active listings against 5,198, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. Melbourne's calendar is the flatter of the two — 17.8 points between its best and worst month against 25.7 in Brisbane — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Brisbane nor Melbourne currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Brisbane peaks in September at 61.7% and bottoms in February at 36%; Melbourne runs from 65.3% in September down to 47.5% in November. Melbourne is the steadier of the two at 17.8 points peak-to-trough against 25.7 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Brisbane concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Brisbane suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Melbourne answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 5,198 active Brisbane listings and 15,595 in Melbourne.

Frequently asked questions

Is Brisbane or Melbourne better for Airbnb investment?

Brisbane, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£31 vs £24), higher median annual revenue (£11,306 vs £8,675), and higher occupancy (21.4% vs 16.4%). Melbourne is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a deeper market (15,595 vs 5,198 active listings).

Which has higher occupancy, Brisbane or Melbourne?

Brisbane, at 21.4% median occupancy against 16.4% in Melbourne — a gap of 5 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Melbourne can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Brisbane shed 1.6 points and Melbourne shed 1.7 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Brisbane or Melbourne?

Brisbane, at £148 a night against £138 in Melbourne — roughly 7.4% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £31 in Brisbane against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Brisbane or Melbourne?

Neither is growing on occupancy — both cooled over the last year. Brisbane gave up 1.6 points and Melbourne 1.7, so Brisbane is the shallower decline rather than the winner.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Brisbane or Melbourne?

Melbourne, with 15,595 active listings against 5,198 in Brisbane. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Brisbane vs Melbourne?

Brisbane earns more: roughly £11,306 a year for a median listing against £8,675 in Melbourne. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Brisbane →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Melbourne →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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