MILDURA hostel owner Tony San has sold the last unit in a complex he has rented out to backpackers since 2005.
As backpacker numbers dropped last year, Mr San switched some units in his Deakin Avenue complex to private accommodation, and he has now sold the last of the units.
The sale comes after hostels Mildura International Backpackers and Sunraysia Backpackers both closed their doors in recent months.
“From 2005 until last year, we were always 80 per cent full,” said Mr San.
“Since last year, all hostels (in Mildura) are 30 per cent or less.”
Mr San said it made financial sense to transform the accommodation to private rental and then sell it.
Increased demand for rental properties has pushed up prices in recent months, with median rents at record highs. Median rent in Mildura currently sits at $350 per week, an increase of 9 per cent compared to 18 months ago.
The median sale price of units in Mildura increased to $220,000 in December 2020 compared to $201,000 in January of the same year.
“I’m financially secure, I’m going OK,” Mr San said.
He said he considered himself lucky to have 25 seasonal workers from East Timor staying with him at his other hostel, Benetook Backpackers.
But he is concerned for other hostel managers who have been paying rent on their properties without backpackers to fill them, and he worries some may be forced to close before international borders reopen.
