Cooma, Jindabyne, and the towns across the Snowy Monaro run on a genuinely different economic rhythm to anywhere else I cover — a four-month ski season that concentrates the bulk of the region’s tourism income into roughly a third of the year, alongside a much steadier year-round agricultural base across the wider Monaro plains. That seasonal concentration is the single biggest thing a standard lending assessment doesn’t naturally account for.
Two Very Different Markets, One LGA
Jindabyne and Cooma sit in the same local government area but occupy completely different price tiers. Jindabyne’s median house price sits above $1.4 million, reflecting its position as the main freehold base for the ski season — most short-term rental stock actually sits here rather than at Thredbo or Perisher themselves. Cooma, 60km down the road, sits at a median closer to $620,000, with a more conventional year-round rental market and considerably less seasonal volatility.
This isn’t a case of “the region is expensive” or “the region is affordable” — it’s genuinely both, depending on which town, and buyers researching “Snowy Monaro property” without distinguishing between them risk badly misjudging what a given budget actually buys.
Short-Term Rental Income Doesn’t Read Like Normal Rental Income
A meaningful share of Jindabyne property value is underpinned by short-term (Airbnb-style) letting rather than standard 12-month tenancies — the region runs at close to full capacity through the ski season, with occupancy dropping off sharply outside it. Unlike Sydney and several other NSW areas, the Snowy Monaro region isn’t subject to the 180-day non-hosted short-term letting cap, meaning full-time short-term operation is genuinely viable here.
The lending wrinkle: short-term rental income is generally assessed more conservatively than a standard lease, since it’s inherently less predictable and seasonally concentrated. If you’re planning to service a Jindabyne purchase partly on projected short-term rental income, expect a lender to want to see an established track record or apply a meaningful discount to projected earnings, rather than taking a peak-season nightly rate at face value.
What the 2027 Tax Changes Mean Here Specifically
The negative gearing and CGT changes taking effect from July 2027 land differently in a tourism-driven market like this one. A local industry figure quoted in regional coverage put it plainly: most lifestyle investors buying existing homes or apartments post-Budget will be affected, potentially reducing the pool of buyers for established stock — while buyers of new-build homes and apartments are unaffected, and there’s currently a meaningful pipeline of approved new subdivisions across the Cooma-Berridale-Jindabyne corridor for buyers to consider instead.
What This Means If You’re Buying or Investing Here
If you’re buying in Jindabyne with short-term rental income in the plan
Bring a realistic, conservative income projection rather than a peak-week nightly rate extrapolated across the year, and expect a lender to want evidence, not just a business plan, if you don’t already have an operating history.
If you’re buying in Cooma or further from the snowline
You’re in a fundamentally steadier, more conventionally-assessed market — agricultural and general regional employment patterns apply more than tourism seasonality.
If you’re considering an established property specifically as an investment
Factor the 2027 tax changes into your timeline — a new-build purchase in the approved subdivision pipeline keeps the current negative gearing and CGT treatment available; an established purchase after the Budget cutoff does not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I count short-term rental income toward a Snowy Monaro home loan?
Often yes, but usually at a conservative discount to advertised peak rates, and lenders generally want to see an established booking history rather than relying purely on projections for a new purchase.
Why is Jindabyne so much more expensive than Cooma in the same LGA?
Jindabyne is the primary freehold town closest to the ski resorts and carries most of the region’s short-term rental stock, while Cooma serves a broader, more conventional regional economy with far less seasonal concentration.
Are short-term rentals restricted in the Snowy Mountains the way they are in Sydney?
No — the Snowy Monaro region isn’t covered by the 180-day annual cap that applies to non-hosted short-term letting in Greater Sydney and a few other specified areas, so year-round short-term operation is currently permitted.
The Bottom Line
The Snowy Monaro isn’t one market — it’s a steady agricultural economy with a highly seasonal tourism market layered on top in specific towns. Knowing which one your target property actually sits in changes both the price you should expect to pay and how a lender will read any rental income behind your application.
Related Reading
- Riverina Property: Why Regional Serviceability Rules Catch Buyers Out — the same seasonal-income principle applied to farming
- The Real Reason: Why an Investment Property’s Rent Didn’t Count the Way the Owner Expected — the broader rental-income discounting issue this connects to
- Canberra Property Market 2026: Rate Rises, Not Cuts, Reshape the Outlook — the nearest capital-city market to this corridor
Written by Michael Wignall, who’s spent 30+ years in banking and home lending across the ACT, Illawarra, and Riverina regions of NSW.
