Air DNA can anyone tell me about this service

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
1dFollow

Air DNA can anyone tell me about this service

Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

I am looking for a replacement for a 1031 I have been posting about it for a few weeks now..

I am considering doing a STR on it. I just popped on to Air dna but you cant get much info unless i guess you pay for it which is fair..

But one thing that comes up is a score which for my sub market I am looking at was an 83.. So my question is .. is that good or just average or poor.. ???

Podcast Guest on Show #222
JLH Capital Partners51 Review
WebsiteView Page
1Reply
199 views

Most Popular Reply

John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1d

AirDNA isn't super reliable. It might county a mobile home because it is nearby or a poorly managed property.

Google the Enemy method and watch a video on how to manually go check the competition on Vrbo and Airbnb.

2Reply
See this reply in the discussion

8 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    OP
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    1d

    @johnunderwood @collinhayes

    Any help would be appreciated on my question. thank you.

    Podcast Guest on Show #222
    JLH Capital Partners51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Khaled El DorryPro Member
    Casselberry, FL · Member since 2016 · 111 posts · 54 votes
    1d

    I own 2 STR's that are doing well and use airdna ($600/year)

    the value for me is in 2 areas.  It had the ability to show you the the top performing properties in that market and to me that's more important than the market itself. I'm in the smokies and I think it's rated 89 if that's point of reference for you but the top performing proprieties are where I get the most value when I'm buying.

    the swing value I get is in the property score compared to competition . I keep tabs (revenue, occupancy l, etc...) on 6-7 competitors just to make sure I'm positioned well 

    0Reply
    • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
      OP
      Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
      1d

      maybe if I had some context on the 83 number.. now I know the smokies are one of the top STR destinations in the US so at 89 on the surface an 83 could be pretty good or if the score starts at 80 and goes to 100 would not be that good.

      I am not looking to this as a business I have personal use baked into this and its just a place holder until my 2 year 1031 lock up has sunset then it will just be a second home unless the running of the STR is easy and no stress.. I dont really need it to make any money. its just I am rolling a rental into this and the rules require 24 months of renting it in some manner. my thought to is to give the most bang for the buck IE its a brand new construction on the high end of the market there so have it the lowest priced unit so It does see some revenue.. And then I can use it the 14 days a year for my fishing adventures I like to do and I guess use it when I have work to be done on it..

      the main reason I ask is if 83 means its going to be tough to get any kind of occupancy then I can just rent it by the month for 2 years and call it macaroni :) thank you for the thoughtful reply.

      Podcast Guest on Show #222
      JLH Capital Partners51 Review
      WebsiteView Page
      1Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    1d

    AirDNA isn't super reliable. It might county a mobile home because it is nearby or a poorly managed property.

    Google the Enemy method and watch a video on how to manually go check the competition on Vrbo and Airbnb.

    2Reply
  • Jules Aton
    MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1d

    I suspect there is some wiggle room with the 1031 occupied criteria but will leave that to the legal guys. Since it is a consumption item I would focus on finding something you like which will no doubt be a solid purchase that can be resold easily and also likely with appreciation. Those things will be second nature to you based on your background and intuition. In my experience the prediction tools have their limitations and as someone with only 2 STRs I have not found them to be especially valuable or relevant.

    0Reply
  • Jon Martin
    Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1d

    83 is a pretty good score. Keep in mind that this is the average of the 5 categories: investability, demand, revenue growth, seasonality and regulation.

    Investibility is irrelevant as a cash buyer, that's basically how cheap it is to buy, so if that is low and weighs down your score I wouldn't worry. Regulation is also irrelevant so long as you are compliant. Seasonality could go either way, the idea of year round revenue is awesome, but if it makes more year round with seasons, who cares? Plus you have downtime for upgrades, repairs and personal use. Demand and revenue growth are clearly important.

    Therefore, look at which of these is pulling down the larger numbers. So long as you have demand and preferably revenue growth then you are good IMO.

    I strongly disagree with those who crap on AirDNA, it's an incredible resource. You just have to make sure that your comp set is using like comps. For example, if you are 4 blocks from the beach and it uses 3 beachfront places as your average, or vice versa, that doesn't help. Although if you can find some that are comparable to what you can put on the market it sets a benchmark for what you can do and give you ideas for where you can improve and differentiate, which if anything should make you more revenue.

    The best AirDNA hack is that you can copy the property code in the URL and paste that directly into the search bar and it will give you the ADR, occupancy and annual revenue.

    0Reply
  • Thomas SloanPro Member
    Partnership at BiggerPockets · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 14 posts · 16 votes
    5h

    There are a handful of competitors that have popped up in recent years that are more affordable.

    I haven't personally used it, but I've looked at BNBCalc.

    [email protected]
    BiggerPockets
    0Reply
  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2h

    83 is a decent score. The data you are looking at with the free version is very limited and not enough to make an informed purchase decision. I pay about $200/mo for the premium version (for property managers, I think they have different pricing plans), but the data is good if you are in an area with a lot of comps. When I run an address with the correct bedroom/bathroom counts I can include or exclude comps, focusing on the ones that are most like the subject. If you have 4-5 very similar comps within a tight geographical area you can get a real good idea of your revenue range.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free