Inside the private club where Aussies swap homes with strangers
Global home exchange club, ThirdHome, is booming as more Aussies trade their holiday homes for more luxurious experiences, with the club now boasting a portfolio of more than 20,000 properties in 100 countries around the world.
It recently opened a Gold Coast office to service its growing member base and support the expanding market for prestige second homes.
'Australia and New Zealand is a great market for what we're doing,' US founder Wade Shealy said, speaking on the sidelines of the Australasian Real Estate Conference (AREC) on the Gold Coast. 'We've added about 500 new members in the past year (in Australia).
'It needs to be a desirable location, and here on the Gold Coast is a very desirable area for our members to go to.'
Mr Shealy, whose wife Debbi Fields is the self-made billionaire founder of Mrs Fields Bakeries, said he was planning to open an office in Asia next to allow more members to travel between Australia and Asia rather than just the United States and Europe.
MORE: The surprise city where it costs more to park than Sydney
Kamala Harris weighs in on Aus housing crisis
Launched in 2010, ThirdHome allows home owners to trade their unused time in their second home to gain access to other members' yachts, villas, estates or castles.
Members are able to travel rent-free, with the club using a travel credits system. Members pay a nominal exchange fee, ranging from $700 to $2000 a week.
The club's newest Australian members include a couple in Sydney's Northern Beaches, the owner of a Japanese ski chalet, and a couple who recently listed three international properties and are now travelling the world almost cost-free.
Homes in the club's Australian portfolio are scattered from Bondi Beach, Byron Bay, Melbourne, Gold Coast hinterland, and Sunshine Coast, and range from $1.5m, up to $100m.
'We look for the location, and we also look at the property and make sure it's in great condition, the interiors are up-to-date and desirable,' Mr Shealy said.
'The hosts are typically people who live in Australia, for example in Sydney, and have a house on the beach on the Sunshine Coast. They love to travel, they're very adventurous and they're trusting, because they're willing to give their house to another club member.'
Mr Shealy said only half of ThirdHome's properties were used for short-term rental accommodation, with many members preferring to only open their homes to club members.
'Typically, a short term rental can only be utilised for 25 weeks a year, so leaving it sitting empty for the rest of the time just doesn't make sense,' he said.
'People are so mobile now, they want to go different places. ThirdHome is a way they can justify buying a second home.
'I think people are thinking more about how to use their home to enhance their life rather than for short-term rental. Sure, it generates some revenue and helps pay some of the bills, but it doesn't add to the quality of their lives.'
During the conference, Mr Shealy was gifting more than 1000 agents attending AREC a luxury holiday at one of ThirdHome's global properties — with only the booking fee to be covered.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Townsville home prices up for 25th month
Townsville home prices have been trending up for more than two years, with property values in the north's capital hitting a fresh peak in July. The latest PropTrack Home Price Index revealed Townsville home prices increased 16.69 per cent year-on-year and 1.21 per cent quarter-on-quarter last month to sit at a median of $551,000. This was the 25th consecutive month of home price increases in Townsville. In the house market, the median price lifted 0.98 per cent in the July quarter and 15.91 per cent in the past 12 months to $589,000. The median unit price hit $428,000 in July, up 2.31 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 20.38 per cent year-on-year. Ray White Townsville managing director, Giovanni Spinella said property prices were still heading up in the region, but growth had begun to stabilise. 'Figures are getting back to single-digit growth,' he said. Mr Spinella said unit prices was outperforming the house prices, as first homebuyers sought affordability. 'They're considering their options and looking at townhouse and units as a first step into the market,' he said. Mr Spinella said demand and stock levels remained solid in Townsville. 'The lower end price points are still getting smashed and homes are selling within a few day of hitting the market. 'The high end is doing well … and the mid-range, upgrader market is performing consistently. 'Stock levels are still tight but we haven't see a decline in available stock on the market in last 12 months.' Seller Glenys Rowe is listing her West End Queenslander for sale and is confident selling in the current market. The veteran film producer said she was shocked how affordable Townsville was when she bought the home at 47 Stagpole St five years ago. 'I bought it for its fabulous architectural value, the history of it and the pleasure of living in a Queenslander,' she said. 'I'd pay big bucks for that. 'So I could never understand why Townsville prices were historically low as they were. 'They've turned a corner now and it's an appropriate price for what you get. 'But I think it's extraordinary what you get in Townsville (for your money).' REA Group economist Anne Flaherty said in wider regional Queensland, home prices rose 0.6 per cent in July to a fresh peak of $728,000, and sat 9.8 per cent higher year-on-year. 'Home prices in regional Queensland have almost doubled over the past five years, rising 90.3 per cent,' she said. While in Brisbane, the average cost of a house remained above $1m for the second consecutive month, sitting at $1.067m. 'Brisbane's median home value hit $919,000 in July, marking the city as the second most expensive capital, only behind Sydney ($1,194,000),' Ms Flaherty said. The PropTrack report showed Australia's median home price hit a new record high in July, rising by 0.3 per cent across the month and 4.9 per cent across the year to $827,000. 'The median value of a house is now sitting at $915,000 nationally, with units at $678,000,' Ms Flaherty said. 'Despite the Reserve Bank's surprise decision to keep interest rates on hold in July, prices rose in all cities bar Canberra. 'Yet the pace of growth did slow down in July, resulting in the smallest monthly growth seen this year.' Ms Flaherty said regional areas outperformed their capital cities counterparts in most markets, recording stronger growth over both the month and the year. 'South Australia remains the strongest market, with Adelaide and regional SA the two top performing regions in the country,' she said. 'While the number of homes for sale has slowed over winter, buyer demand remains strong, with auction clearance rates sitting at the highest level in more than two years. 'Home prices are expected to break into new territory later this year, with further interest rate cuts expected to add momentum to price growth.'
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
ASIO chief exposes shocking cost of foreign spying on Australia
Foreign espionage is costing the Australian economy at least $12.5bn a year, with the ASIO boss warning against complacency against the 'real, present and costly danger'. The director-general of security Mike Burgess has for the first time publicly put a dollar figure on what foreign spies are costing Australia and espionage remains one of the country's principal security concerns. 'This is critical because I believe that we need to wake up to the cost of espionage – which is more than just financial,' he said in the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of Adelaide on Thursday night. 'We need to understand espionage is not some quaint, romantic fiction; it's a real, present and costly danger.' ASIO director-general Mike Burgess issued his warning delivering the annual Hawke Lecture at Adelaide University. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Mr Burgess released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, to try to count the cost of espionage. The report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5bn in the 2023-2024 financial year, an estimate Mr Burgess called 'conservative'. 'This includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, such as the state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding,' he said. 'As just one example, the Institute estimates foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2bn of trade secrets and intellectual property from Australian companies and businesses in 2023-24. 'The report includes a case study where spies hacked into the computer network of a major Australian exporter, making off with commercially sensitive information. 'The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.' Mr Burgess said too many were complacent about the cost of espionage and urged 'all parts of our system – public and private, federal, state and local – to recognise the threat'. 'I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage,' he said. 'I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised. 'I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences. 'Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China.' Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, was singled out by ASIO boss Mike Burgess. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / AFP / Mikhail Metzel He again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia and said Russia remained 'a persistent and aggressive espionage threat'. 'Last year, two Russian-born Australian citizens were arrested and charged with an espionage-related offence,' Mr Burgess said. 'Separately, I can confirm in 2022 a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers were removed from this country. 'But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with. 'You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets. 'The obvious candidates are very active … but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.' Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had disrupted 24 'major espionage and foreign interference' operations in the past three years alone. 'Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication,' he said. 'ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted – more aggressively – than ever before.' While AUKUS and military technology secrets were targets, Australia's intellectual property and cutting edge research was also in the sights of foreign agents. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said spies were targeting Australia's cutting edge research and technology as well as defence secrets. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman He said an overseas delegation visiting a 'sensitive Australian horticultural facility' snapped branches off a 'rare and valuable variety of fruit tree' in order to steal them. 'Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development,' he said. He said foreign intelligence services are 'proactive, creative and opportunistic' in their targets. 'In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. 'Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them.'
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Coles apologises after charging online shoppers twice
Coles has apologised to customers after a number of online shoppers were charged twice for their deliveries. The supermarket giant said a technical error meant some orders that were placed between June 26 and 28 were billed again in late July. Coles said the issue affected a 'small number' of customers. The second pre-authorisation – or temporary hold of the money – was reversed and the situation should now be resolved, it said on Thursday. Coles has apologised after some customers were double charged for online shopping. Picture: NewsWire The error was noticed last weekend and fix rolled out from Monday. A spokesperson for the company said: 'We're committed to ensuring a smooth experience for our customers when shopping online. 'In this instance, we worked quickly with our payment processor to arrange a reversal of the duplicate charge. 'We apologise to our customers for this inconvenience.' Read related topics: Coles
