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Chris Manahan
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Short term rentals/ Airdna accuracy

Chris Manahan
Posted Jan 26 2023, 03:24

New to investing, looking to get into the short term rental market. Is there an area in San Antonio or within an hour of San Antonio that anyone would recommend buying a property?


How accurate is the estimates by airdna for potential revenue and occupancy percentage? Is there a different site that does the same that may be more accurate for short term rentals?

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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
ModeratorReplied Jan 26 2023, 04:37
Quote from @Chris Manahan:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

Computer algorithms are not perfect and can sometimes be wildly off, just like Zillow estimates. Use AirDNA to get a general idea of the local market, but do your own analysis to evaluate a specific home.


  • Property Manager Wyoming (#12599)

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William Lokar
  • Realtor
  • Northeast TN and Central VA
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William Lokar
  • Realtor
  • Northeast TN and Central VA
Replied Jan 26 2023, 04:47

I generally use AirDNA to identify markets and get a first estimate for rental potential.  On my STRs I've been getting about 80% of the AirDNA estimate, with updated properties in different markets.  A lot of this may be due to having longer term tenants, which lowers revenue in most cases.   I just wanted to share my numbers.  As a starting point, it's always a good idea to make decisions based on conservative estimates.

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Taj Akinbode
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Investor-Friendly Agent| Serving Houston, TX - And Surrounding Areas
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Taj Akinbode
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Investor-Friendly Agent| Serving Houston, TX - And Surrounding Areas
Replied Jan 26 2023, 05:01

Another alternative you might look into is https://seetransparent.com/

It would be hard to get a 100% accurate data from any one source unless you are getting the data directly from say Airbnb

Hope this helps. 

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Taj Akinbode
  • Real Estate Agent
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Taj Akinbode
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Investor-Friendly Agent| Serving Houston, TX - And Surrounding Areas
Replied Jan 26 2023, 05:13

Galveston is a destination magnet for short term and vacation renters.

Contact me if you would like to learn more about opportunities that are available to you in Galveston TX.

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Karl McGarvey
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Houston, TX
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Karl McGarvey
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Houston, TX
Replied Jan 26 2023, 06:11
Quote from @Chris Manahan:

New to investing, looking to get into the short term rental market. Is there an area in San Antonio or within an hour of San Antonio that anyone would recommend buying a property?


How accurate is the estimates by airdna for potential revenue and occupancy percentage? Is there a different site that does the same that may be more accurate for short term rentals?

Im a bigger fan of pricelabs personally. I help many STR investors in Galveston/Houston and really like what it has to offer in terms of data. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about it or self managing STR!

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January Johnson
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Emerald Coast, FL
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January Johnson
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Emerald Coast, FL
Replied Jan 26 2023, 13:25
Quote from @Chris Manahan:

New to investing, looking to get into the short term rental market. Is there an area in San Antonio or within an hour of San Antonio that anyone would recommend buying a property?


How accurate is the estimates by airdna for potential revenue and occupancy percentage? Is there a different site that does the same that may be more accurate for short term rentals?


OOOH!  PICK ME!  I think you should locate property in close proximity to one of the (five?) Air Force Bases there and list on Homes.mil.  I did this in FL with one of my rentals.  Everyone in the military will be able to see your listing if they are PCSing to that area.  (Permanent Change of Station)

Someone from the military will come out and do a basic inspection, but it's no big deal.  Good luck with your rentals!

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Replied Jan 27 2023, 09:43

Hey Chris, I would say that areas near the air-force bases, downtown, airport, and New Braunfels are great locations for STR. They experience the most traffic from visitors year-round. Airdna is a good one, but check out Rabbu.com also. It is a little more conservative, so I usually average the two sites.

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Replied Jan 27 2023, 10:02

You might want to google the awning airbnb estimator for a free full-feature tool. If you go to the home page and select Top Deals, you'll also find all the properties on the MLS complete with vacation rental and long-term rental analysis, so you can see what the hottest deals are. If you don't already have an agent, DM me and I can connect you with someone amazing in texas.

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William Beck
  • Realtor
  • Branson, MO
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William Beck
  • Realtor
  • Branson, MO
Replied Jan 27 2023, 11:25

I remember seeing some successful STR's on the north side of town, close to Six Flags. That could be a starting place!

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Replied Feb 7 2023, 06:23

If you pay for the market and use the Rentalizer tool I believe it is accurate revenue before all expenses. If you pay for the market you are able to see the comps it's pulling and disregard the bad ones. Having a pool can almost double your revenue in some cases. Different types of STR work better in some areas of San Antonio than others. Feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to chat

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Deniece Frideley
  • New to Real Estate
  • Texas
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Deniece Frideley
  • New to Real Estate
  • Texas
Replied Feb 7 2023, 09:45

Just my personal experience. We looked at some condos down in Gulf Shores and I pulled AirDNA data on our top three properties. I wasn't using it as fact, only speculation but our lender wouldn't accept them. An agent was able to obtain the previous 3 years of rentals and it was about half of what AirDNA projected excluding one property that was about three-quarters. 

With rentals you never know how much is being spent on marketing or if they are just putting it on Airbnb and hoping it rents on it's own. Good Luck, I'm just starting out too.