Best cities for year round ski/lake demand?

Question

As the title says, I'm interested in acquiring a STVR property in an area that has both summer demand for lake recreation, as well as close proximity to ski resorts.  I have experience in the Lake Lanier GA area, but the summers can get quite hot and the winter can be pretty dead, so I've been interested in checking out Boyne City, MI.  Id love to find a place that's more pleasant in the summer in case we want to use it as an occasional Atlanta getaway as well. Does anyone have any similar suggestions for places with relatively nice summers in a lake town as well as ski resort proximity to help with winter demand? Anywhere in the U.S. could work. Thanks for any input!

Bradley Buxton · Answer

@Brian Gritton

I'm in the Lake Tahoe, Nevada area and there is some of of the best skiing and lake life here. Some of the cleanest lake water in the country.  Depending on the part of the lake there will be different permitting process. The weather is fantastic in the summer an will be much less humid in the summer than Atlanta.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

I agree and confirm the pause in Idyllwild. Even without the pause I have had listings there and have had homeowners post signs all around the property that were listed stating "This is not an area for STRs, go away." It was crazy, and when a place with homeowners gets this intense it is not a place to go for investing in STRs even when there is no local regs.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

virtually any state out in the west will fit this bill.. careful with STR regulations though

Laura Yelin · Answer

Hello everyone,

I'm interested in starting my STR business. As I live in San Diego I'd to start in Southern Cali, at least until I learn the business.

I've looked into several markets and the dessert seems the more profitable. Specifically, I'm looking at Joshua Tree and Borrego Springs.

Does someone here have experience in these two markets?

I'm curios to learn what's the occupancy during the summer.

Would highly appreciate any help/tips!!!

Thanks!

Laura

Jason Kudo · Answer

Hi Laura, STR owner in the Joshua Tree area and realtor that does a lot of business in the area too. Regarding anti-STR sentiment leading to anti-STR regulation, this is untrue. San Bernardino county has some of friendliest STR regulations in Southern California. There is a small group of locals who are anti-STR but the good majority are pro-STR due the the fact that STRs bring a ton of revenue for local businesses and jobs for locals.

Regarding summers, the temperature is the hottest in August and can get up to 100 degrees so STRs with pools do better in the summer. Palm Springs can get up to 120 degrees so it is cooler than the low desert. However, the Perseid meteor shower hits the Joshua Tree area in August and this brings a lot of stargazers to the area in August because you can see TONS of shooting stars in August.

Regarding saturation, you want to avoid buying a property in a residential neighborhood and opt for something on acreage with good separation from neighbors and ideally south of Highway 62. The greatest saturation is found with STR in residential neighborhoods.

Summertime in Borrego Springs is similar to Joshua Tree in terms of temperatures and you need to be careful about floods in Borrengo Springs as the majority of the town is in a flood zone.  This is why you see most homes in the area surrounded by high walls to protect against flooding. The adobe-style homes with pools in Borrego Springs in acreage do well. Borrego Springs had an incredible super bloom this spring.

The Salton Sea area has an air pollution problem from chemical spraying from nearby farms and the town surrounding the sea is very run down. There is an effort to desalinate the sea but that won’t happen anytime soon. The area is popular for off-roading but these people bring their own RVs. I would avoid for STRs and even mid-term.

Let me know what other questions you have that I can help answer for you in terms of STRs in Southern California!

Dan Thomas · Answer

Take a look at the lakes region area of NH.  LOTS of lakes that bring in out of state visitors and ski mountains galore.

Bob Lett · Answer

Boyne City doesnt have the draw like it does in the winter but there are other pockets qithin 15-20min that do better in the summer. I would look around Petoskey and Charlevoix but please note regulations in those towns and surrounding areas. MI has a lot of potential for STR's but regulations are changing rapidly. I would rather invest where regulations are set in MI and then you can dial in your search from there just my .02

Jason Kudo · Answer

Idyllwild currently has a pause on issuing STR permits. I would hold off on Idyllwild for now.

Best cities for year round ski/lake demand?

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