Short-stay and mid-term management in Vaucluse
Vaucluse carries the highest nightly rate of any eastern-suburbs market we track, and the lowest occupancy. It is also the only one of the three that went backwards this year: occupancy fell 7.3 points, from 58.0% to 50.7%. That combination is workable, but it is a different business from a suburb that fills, and an owner should know which one they are buying into before the furniture arrives.
How we read this market
MetaWise has run short-stay property across Sydney since 2009, and reads Vaucluse with the same revenue tools it prices its own calendars with. The figures on this page come from the PriceLabs short-term rental index for the Vaucluse official boundary — an average of 75 active listings over the twelve months to September 2026 — so each one can be traced to its source rather than taken on trust. They are averages across that market, modelled from listing data rather than audited accounts. We publish the fall as readily as the rate: they are the market's numbers, not ours, and we do not publish our owners' figures.
Demand
What actually fills a calendar here
The harbour, and what it is worth per night
A water view is the whole product here. December's average nightly rate reached A$1,253 — the highest single month of any suburb on this site. Nothing else in the east prices like that, and it is why the annual revenue per listing, around A$173,500, is the highest of the three despite the property standing empty half the year.
Whole houses, not apartments
The demand that pays Vaucluse rates is a family or a group taking an entire house: Christmas, a wedding, a milestone, a summer fortnight. That guest is not comparing against a hotel, and they book a long way out, which makes the forward calendar more valuable here than anywhere else in this part of Sydney.
Nielsen Park, Watsons Bay and the summer concentration
The beaches and the harbour walks pull the year into a few months. October through December ran the strongest occupancy of the year, peaking at 66.5%, and April and May fell to 38.3% and 34.2%. This is the most seasonal market covered on this site.
The occupancy is going the wrong way
Occupancy fell 7.3 points year-on-year, and it fell across most months rather than in one bad patch. Supply rose over the same period, from 64 listings to 84 at the peak. More properties chasing the same summer is the most likely reading, and it is a reason to be careful about a plan that assumes last year's calendar.
Property types
What works here
- Whole houses with a harbour outlook, which is where the rate actually lives
- Larger homes that can take a family group for a fortnight rather than a weekend
- Apartments on the Rose Bay and New South Head Road side, which fill more evenly but do not carry the view premium
Operations
What makes it hard
- Half the year is quiet. At 50.7% average occupancy a property here earns its money in a concentrated window, and the pricing of that window decides the year. A flat December rate is the single most expensive mistake available in this suburb.
- Large houses mean large turnovers. Linen volume, cleaning hours and pool or garden maintenance are a different cost base from a two-bedroom apartment, and they do not scale down in the quiet months.
- Steep blocks, narrow streets and limited parking are normal here. Access needs to be explained before a booking rather than discovered at the door.
Rules
Compliance in this area
General information about how the NSW framework applies here, not advice on your building.
- Vaucluse sits inside Greater Sydney, so non-hosted short-term rental accommodation is capped at 180 nights a year and the property must carry an STRA registration number.
- At 50.7% occupancy the cap is rarely the binding constraint here — roughly 185 nights sold in an average year sits close to it, but the quiet half of the year arrives first.
- Bookings of 21 consecutive days or more are generally not counted toward the cap, which suits the longer family stays this market attracts.
- Woollahra Municipal Council applies the state STRA framework. The by-law of the individual scheme, where there is one, is still the first thing to check.
Coverage
Suburbs we service from here
Vaucluse · Watsons Bay · Rose Bay surrounds · Dover Heights surrounds · Diamond Bay
Questions
Vaucluse — the highest rate in the east, and falling occupancy — frequently asked
Is the highest nightly rate the best outcome?
Not on its own. Vaucluse averaged A$845 a night at 50.7% occupancy; Double Bay averaged A$476 at 73.2%. The Vaucluse annual revenue per listing is still higher, around A$173,500 against A$117,300, but it is earned in fewer, larger bookings, with the running costs of a bigger property for the whole year.
Should the falling occupancy stop me?
It should change the plan rather than end it. Occupancy fell 7.3 points year-on-year while listings rose from 64 to a peak of 84. A property that competes on the view and prices the summer properly is a different proposition from one that assumes last year's occupancy and a flat rate.
When does Vaucluse actually earn?
October to December, and the school holidays. October 2025 ran the highest occupancy of the year at 66.5% and December carried the highest rate at A$1,253. April and May fell to 38.3% and 34.2%. More of the year's income comes from fewer weeks here than anywhere else covered on this site.