Ocean City, MD - STR - Market Guidance and Realtor Request!
Hi All,
First post. Long time browser and podcast listener.
Looking to pickup a short term rental in Ocean City, MD. (OCMD).
Target Area: streets 70s-90s to capture a more family oriented clientele. A block or two off the ocean/bay
Target Property: Condo; 2BR; 2BATH; ≈600-1000sft; Parking
Based on my research and input from another OCMD investor (in his first year of STR), it seems that I can expect 80-100% occupancy 3 months of the year and maybe 50% occupancy for another 3 months of the year. Anything else is a rare cherry on top. Based on my property profile, I am currently estimating $130/night for the 3 months at 50% occupancy and $180/night for the 3 months at 80-100% occupancy.
For those in the market, does this seem like a realistic estimation? Thanks for your input!
Also, looking for a realtor in the area if you know of any
Thanks in advance!
Most Popular Reply
I don't own in OC, but I've been researching STRs there for months. My grandparents had a cottage in OC from the 1950's-1980's, so I grew up going there for the summers. I still vacation there almost every year. I would love to have an STR there, but from my research, I'm not sure if it would make much profit, with the high condo fees and property taxes, and low occupancy during the winter. If you're using it as a vacation home, and want to break even or make a little money, it would be great. I'm still going to keep track of off-season occupancy and prices.
The R-1 areas that Michael Baum mentioned are where many of the year-round residents live, and they wanted restrictions on partying STRs in their neighborhoods. As you said, you aren't looking there anyway.
70-90th Streets are fine, buy why restrict it to those? The high-rise condo buildings go from about 94th to 118th Sts. You may not want to buy in those because of the high prices and condo fees, but they rent well too. The beaches can get crowded there because of the number of residents in those buildings.
From there up to the state line is good. Northside Park at 125th St is OC's most popular park, with fireworks and other activities in the summer.
My sister's friend has an STR in Dewey Beach, and bought two STRs in North OC this past winter. She is happy with the income from them this summer. She bought 3 bed/2 baths condos that were very dated, in older buildings. Each was under 250K, which isn't easy to find for 3 beds. She remodeled both, and decorated them with beautiful, beachy decor.
Make sure you check out the condo fees, and if there have been any special assessments. Condo fees are very high there, mainly because of the upkeep on materials exposed to salt air and winter storms. AC units corrode and need to be replaced more often than inland, and paint doesn't last long on surfaces. Masonry buildings require less maintenance than wood buildings. A lot of the older buildings don't have central air, they have room air conditioners.
A lot of the 2 and 3 story condo buildings don't have elevators. So keep in mind how many flights of stairs your renters will need to go up and down (and haul their luggage). Since the buildings are usually raised, they may need to go up one flight just to get to the 1st floor.
If you buy on the bayside, check out how long the walk will be to the ocean. And use Google Maps to see whether there is a convenient crosswalk across Coastal Highway.
One thing that's different about OC is that it's traditional to require renters to bring their own sheets, towels, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. The weekly rentals through real estate agencies are still like that. A lot of Airbnb rentals are like that, although I'm seeing more and more that supply sheets, etc.
Here is a page with different maps that will be useful. https://tocgis.maps.arcgis.com...
There is one called Low Lying Areas that shows flood prone areas (Zones A and B). The bayside has more than you would think, more than the ocean side.
I had looked around for a realtor that concentrated on investors, and found Michael Nolan. http://www.myrealestatespot.co...
He has some blogs on vacation rental properties. http://www.myrealestatespot.co...
I have been signed up for his daily email with new properties, pending, and sold properties. I have not bought a property through him, so can't say anything about him otherwise.
The R-1 areas that Michael Baum mentioned are where many of the year-round residents live, and they wanted restrictions on partying STRs in their neighborhoods. As you said, you aren't looking there anyway.
70-90th Streets are fine, buy why restrict it to those? The high-rise condo buildings go from about 94th to 118th Sts. You may not want to buy in those because of the high prices and condo fees, but they rent well too. The beaches can get crowded there because of the number of residents in those buildings.
From there up to the state line is good. Northside Park at 125th St is OC's most popular park, with fireworks and other activities in the summer.
My sister's friend has an STR in Dewey Beach, and bought two STRs in North OC this past winter. She is happy with the income from them this summer. She bought 3 bed/2 baths condos that were very dated, in older buildings. Each was under 250K, which isn't easy to find for 3 beds. She remodeled both, and decorated them with beautiful, beachy decor.
Make sure you check out the condo fees, and if there have been any special assessments. Condo fees are very high there, mainly because of the upkeep on materials exposed to salt air and winter storms. AC units corrode and need to be replaced more often than inland, and paint doesn't last long on surfaces. Masonry buildings require less maintenance than wood buildings. A lot of the older buildings don't have central air, they have room air conditioners.
A lot of the 2 and 3 story condo buildings don't have elevators. So keep in mind how many flights of stairs your renters will need to go up and down (and haul their luggage). Since the buildings are usually raised, they may need to go up one flight just to get to the 1st floor.
If you buy on the bayside, check out how long the walk will be to the ocean. And use Google Maps to see whether there is a convenient crosswalk across Coastal Highway.
One thing that's different about OC is that it's traditional to require renters to bring their own sheets, towels, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. The weekly rentals through real estate agencies are still like that. A lot of Airbnb rentals are like that, although I'm seeing more and more that supply sheets, etc.
Here is a page with different maps that will be useful. https://tocgis.maps.arcgis.com...
There is one called Low Lying Areas that shows flood prone areas (Zones A and B). The bayside has more than you would think, more than the ocean side.
I had looked around for a realtor that concentrated on investors, and found Michael Nolan. http://www.myrealestatespot.co...
He has some blogs on vacation rental properties. http://www.myrealestatespot.co...
I have been signed up for his daily email with new properties, pending, and sold properties. I have not bought a property through him, so can't say anything about him otherwise.