Short and Medium Term Rental Vacancy Rates

[Tyson Thompson]

Hello!

Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to determine an expected vacancy rate for short or medium-term rentals in any given area? My original thought was to basically just triple what the normal vacancy rates were in the area, but I know that would not be super accurate. We are analyzing a potential property as a short to medium-term rental and are struggling to pick a vacancy rate figure. Thanks in advance!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Tyson Thompson:

Your best option is to use a data site like AirDNA.

[Allen Duan]

I'm not sure AirDNA will help much for mid term rentals. There's a lot of data out there for short term rentals, but there's no easy way to determine MTR occupancy rates that I'm aware of. Networking and asking others in your market may be your best bet. In Los Angeles, our properties have around 10-15% vacancy throughout a given year. I recommend going with conservative number as you're analyzing and see how that works out for your deal.

[Lygia Bratton]

Quote from @Allen Duan:

I'm not sure AirDNA will help much for mid term rentals. There's a lot of data out there for short term rentals, but there's no easy way to determine MTR occupancy rates that I'm aware of. Networking and asking others in your market may be your best bet. In Los Angeles, our properties have around 10-15% vacancy throughout a given year. I recommend going with conservative number as you're analyzing and see how that works out for your deal.

 Does anyone have a good advice on how/where to properly comp a multi unit property?

[Allen Duan]

Hi Lygia, you can definitely find comps and estimate MTR rental rates with Airbnb and Furnished Finder. Just make sure to check if the comp is primarily a STR, which might make the mid term rates look higher if that listing is not targeting mid term bookings.

[Lygia Bratton]

Quote from @Allen Duan:

Hi Lygia, you can definitely find comps and estimate MTR rental rates with Airbnb and Furnished Finder. Just make sure to check if the comp is primarily a STR, which might make the mid term rates look higher if that listing is not targeting mid term bookings.

Hi Allen,

I’m trying to comp the property itself and not the rental income. Any suggestion on any free websites that I might be able to do that?

[Brett Deas]

For the places I have in Denver vacancy ranges from 3% over 3 years to 20%. It is becoming a highly saturated market and you really need to make the place nice in order for it to get traction. As far as estimating goes I would look up furnished finders report to give some insight, combining that with other places like Zillow and other long term sites. 

[Allen Duan]

Hi Lygia, do you mean the value of the property? You can use the typical websites like Zillow and Redfin for that.

[Jewel B.]

Quote from @Lygia Bratton:

Quote from @Allen Duan:

I'm not sure AirDNA will help much for mid term rentals. There's a lot of data out there for short term rentals, but there's no easy way to determine MTR occupancy rates that I'm aware of. Networking and asking others in your market may be your best bet. In Los Angeles, our properties have around 10-15% vacancy throughout a given year. I recommend going with conservative number as you're analyzing and see how that works out for your deal.

 Does anyone have a good advice on how/where to properly comp a multi unit property?

Online real estate sites such as Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and LoopNet. Public records. Ask your realtor.

[Nathan R Andersen]

@Tyson Thompson

Maybe not to determine vacancy %, but you can build out a como list in your area and find which types of properties are not currently available and why. Where I live there are rarely places that allow pets available for rent. Also mother in law suites and private bath are not as available.

Iso g this info you can better determine projected vacancy based on factors you can control on top of the fact that you could have other amenities or the best presentation that would help minimize vacancy.

[Conner Olsen]

Quote from @Tyson Thompson:

Hello!

Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to determine an expected vacancy rate for short or medium-term rentals in any given area? My original thought was to basically just triple what the normal vacancy rates were in the area, but I know that would not be super accurate. We are analyzing a potential property as a short to medium-term rental and are struggling to pick a vacancy rate figure. Thanks in advance!

 I own 2 units and manage another 2, we're seeing 5-15% vacancy across the units over the past 18 months. Biggest driver for vacancy for us is being pet friendly.

[Marc Rice]

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Tyson Thompson:

Hello!

Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to determine an expected vacancy rate for short or medium-term rentals in any given area? My original thought was to basically just triple what the normal vacancy rates were in the area, but I know that would not be super accurate. We are analyzing a potential property as a short to medium-term rental and are struggling to pick a vacancy rate figure. Thanks in advance!

 I own 2 units and manage another 2, we're seeing 5-15% vacancy across the units over the past 18 months. Biggest driver for vacancy for us is being pet friendly.

 Thanks for sharing Conner. Do you find being pet friendly increases your occupancy OR deters guests away who don't want to deal with past pets?

[Conner Olsen]

Quote from @Marc Rice:

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Tyson Thompson:

Hello!

Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to determine an expected vacancy rate for short or medium-term rentals in any given area? My original thought was to basically just triple what the normal vacancy rates were in the area, but I know that would not be super accurate. We are analyzing a potential property as a short to medium-term rental and are struggling to pick a vacancy rate figure. Thanks in advance!

 I own 2 units and manage another 2, we're seeing 5-15% vacancy across the units over the past 18 months. Biggest driver for vacancy for us is being pet friendly.

 Thanks for sharing Conner. Do you find being pet friendly increases your occupancy OR deters guests away who don't want to deal with past pets?

 It definitely increases occupancy! There's a lot of demand and low supply for pet friendly.

[Marc Rice]

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Marc Rice:

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Tyson Thompson:

Hello!

Does anyone have any good advice or resources on how to determine an expected vacancy rate for short or medium-term rentals in any given area? My original thought was to basically just triple what the normal vacancy rates were in the area, but I know that would not be super accurate. We are analyzing a potential property as a short to medium-term rental and are struggling to pick a vacancy rate figure. Thanks in advance!

 I own 2 units and manage another 2, we're seeing 5-15% vacancy across the units over the past 18 months. Biggest driver for vacancy for us is being pet friendly.

 Thanks for sharing Conner. Do you find being pet friendly increases your occupancy OR deters guests away who don't want to deal with past pets?

 It definitely increases occupancy! There's a lot of demand and low supply for pet friendly.

 Makes sense, thanks!

[Jamie Banks]

The short answer is that for MTRs it's really hard to estimate for 2 reasons. 1. There's no one MTR site so tools like Airdna don't have access to the data to pull vacancy rates. 2. MTRs can be operated by working directly with businesses, that's my strategy. My vacancy rates wouldn't be shown because I don't run my businesses using the OTAs. 

I study a given market's supply, rental rates, comp properties, etc. for a few months to truly understand the MTR market before I choose to invest there.