How many properties sit empty?

Updated Jul 2025

Looking into the luxury high-rises in the Gold Coast suburb of Main Beach on a Sunday night recently it seemed nobody was home.

The local paper delights in announcing every new high-rise to be built, however nobody seems to be talking about the waste of having empty dwellings during a "housing crisis".

In tourism-reliant Surfers Paradise, 27.5 per cent of dwellings, or 7,009 homes, were unoccupied on census night [August 10, 2021], according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-10/housing-crisis-gold-coast-tackling-empty-homes-cost-of-living/102106440

Are these figures correct?

Clearly when the lights go out tonight there will be unoccupied dwellings in Main Beach, Southport and many suburbs across Queensland.

Prices have boomed, however the real concern is investors leaving properties vacant.

Why leave an investment property vacant?

By keeping their properties free of occupants, owners gain the option of selling their investment at some point in the future and earning a higher price. Some simply do not want the issues associated with renting a property.

Holiday precincts like Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach have high numbers of investor-owned apartments that sit idle during off-peak months or are used seasonally.

Census data suggests some of these properties are effectively "ghost homes" — owned, but not used.

Victoria introduced a Vacant Residential Land Tax

Vacant residential land tax introduced 1 January 2018, applies to homes in inner and middle Melbourne that were vacant for more than six months in the preceding calendar year.

The Victorian government explain: to increase the availability of housing, the vacant residential land tax applies to empty homes in many of Melbourne's middle and inner suburbs. This tax affects you, if you own a home that is located within 16 specific council areas that has remained unoccupied for more than six months of the calendar year. The tax is charged annually, and is calculated at 1% of the property's capital improved value.

That's the value of the property, including land, buildings and other improvements. It's displayed on your council rates notice. Some vacant homes will be eligible for an exemption.

The Victorian government says it plans to enforce the tax by checking utility records to look for properties with very low usage. This tax's biggest accomplishment may be an income surge for Bunnings, as property owners buy faucet and electrical outlet timers that enable them to evade monitoring of their utility usage.

https://www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au/news/the-lowdown-on-victorias-new-vacant-property-tax-234089.aspx