Sunshine Coast vs Western Australia: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Western Australia edges ahead of Sunshine Coast on higher occupancy (21.4% vs 16.4%).

Head-to-head metrics

	Sunshine Coast	Western Australia
Median occupancy	16.4%	21.4%
Median daily rate	£220	£176
Median RevPAR	£39	£39
Active listings	5,381	11,558
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	-1.6 pts
YoY daily rate	+32.7%	+40.2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Sunshine Coast vs Western Australia

Western Australia finishes narrowly ahead of Sunshine Coast on our composite of occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk — and it is the calendar rather than the price tag doing the work. Western Australia's listings run at 21.4% occupancy against 16.4% in Sunshine Coast, worth 5 extra points of booked calendar every year. Western Australia is the deeper market at 11,558 active listings against 5,381, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Sunshine Coast would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Sunshine Coast is the rate market: £220 a night against £176, some 25.2% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 16.4% occupancy. Western Australia is the volume market, filling 21.4% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £39 in Sunshine Coast against £39. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Sunshine Coast is not simply the weaker market of the two. Sunshine Coast commands 25.2% more per night, £220 against £176. Sunshine Coast is the less crowded of the two — 5,381 active listings to 11,558 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Sunshine Coast nor Western Australia 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. Sunshine Coast peaks in October at 63.4% and bottoms in February at 37.4%; Western Australia runs from 55.8% in September down to 32.4% in February. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Sunshine Coast suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Western Australia answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. 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 5,381 active Sunshine Coast listings and 11,558 in Western Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sunshine Coast or Western Australia better for Airbnb investment?

Western Australia, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (21.4% vs 16.4%), a deeper market (11,558 vs 5,381 active listings), and faster rate growth (+40.2% vs +32.7% year over year). Sunshine Coast is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£220 vs £176).

Which has higher occupancy, Sunshine Coast or Western Australia?

Western Australia, at 21.4% median occupancy against 16.4% in Sunshine Coast — a gap of 5 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Sunshine Coast can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Sunshine Coast was flat and Western Australia shed 1.6 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Sunshine Coast or Western Australia?

Sunshine Coast, at £220 a night against £176 in Western Australia — roughly 25.2% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £39 in Sunshine Coast against £39, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Sunshine Coast or Western Australia?

Sunshine Coast, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against −1.6 points in Western Australia. Nightly rates rose 32.7% in Sunshine Coast and rose 40.2% in Western Australia over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Sunshine Coast or Western Australia?

Western Australia, with 11,558 active listings against 5,381 in Sunshine Coast. 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 Sunshine Coast vs Western Australia?

Sunshine Coast earns more: roughly £14,122 a year for a median listing against £14,076 in Western Australia. 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 Sunshine Coast →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Western Australia →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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