Berclair (38122) is a Sleeper STR Market in Memphis

[Andrew Glisson]

I’ve been seeing a pattern across STR properties I own and manage in the Berclair area of Memphis and wanted to share what’s working and why I think this submarket is overlooked.   Location ∙ 12 min to Beale Street / Downtown ∙ 7 min to Shelby Farms Park (4,500 acres, one of the biggest urban parks in the country) ∙ Right next to Broad Avenue Arts District (70+ local businesses, breweries, galleries, restaurants) ∙ Shelby Farms Greenline trailhead less than a mile from Broad Ave   The Summer Avenue angle ∙ Runs right through Berclair and has quietly become Memphis’s international food corridor ∙ Somali, Yemeni, Vietnamese, Mexican, Ethiopian, Jamaican, Lebanese, Japanese all within a two-mile stretch ∙ Merchants Association is working to formally brand it as the city’s first international district ∙ Experiential dining drives bookings. Guests love this stuff and it differentiates your listing from generic Midtown spots   Acquisition math ∙ Median home prices in 38122 sit around $130K-$145K vs $250K+ in Midtown or Cooper-Young ∙ Mostly 1940s-1960s brick cottages, structurally simple rehabs ∙ Revenue-to-basis ratio is significantly better than the “obvious” Memphis submarkets Guest profile ∙ Families visiting St. Jude (15 min drive). Year-round demand that doesn’t follow tourist seasonality ∙ Remote workers who want greenline and park access ∙ Couples looking for authentic Memphis without the Beale Street tourist markup ∙ Broad Ave First Friday events boost weekend bookings in shoulder seasons   Regulatory ∙ Memphis allows non-owner-occupied STRs ∙ Simple permit, small $ annual renewal, no caps, no proximity restrictions ∙ Compare that to Nashville and it’s night and day   Downside protection ∙ Vacancy in the zip code is around 1.7%, lower than ~90% of US neighborhoods ∙ If you ever need to pivot to mid-term or long-term rental, the demand is there ∙ Won’t win you the flashiest listing photos but the returns are hard to argue with.

[Michael Baum]

Really needs some paragraphs...