The COVID pandemic hit the U.S. hard, with restrictions on work and travel. This, coupled with the fact that many people could work from anywhere in the country, increased demand for short-term rentals in South Florida.
“It appears mostly in the Sunbelt states, particularly in Florida, in South Carolina, where we have beach fronts and parts of Texas,” says Ken H. Johnson, real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University. “If you were going to work from home and you were in the north or the Midwest, and you wanted to get away from home or even work for a short while, you could do it from West Palm Beach or Miami.” From South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
AirDNA, a data analytics company that tracks Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and other platforms, released an update to its mid-year 2022 outlook that shows average daily rates for short-term rentals in the U.S. have grown 7 percent year over year — and that’s nearly 30 percent higher than the summer of pre-pandemic 2019.
Those conclusions, part of an update to AirDNA’s mid-year 2022 outlook, which said U.S. average daily rate growth is highest in urban and coastal areas.
The short-term rental market has been growing rapidly in recent years, but the report from AirDNA forecasts that supply is outpacing demand for short-term rentals.
The company predicts that the U.S. supply of short-term rentals will increase 21 percent year-over-year in 2022, with both Airbnb and Vrbo increasing their listings. This would bring the total number of units listed on these sites to more than 2 million, up from 1.65 million this year.
AirDNA also forecasts that occupancy will remain relatively stable through 2022, hovering around 58 percent year after year.
"With supply outpacing demand growth as expected, our outlook for occupancy is largely unchanged," AirDNA said. "Our revised forecast now calls for U.S. occupancy to average 58.2% for the year, slightly lower than our 59.8% forecast in October."
South Florida Force
South Florida has become a significant hub for international business and entertainment events. This year, joining famous events like the Miami Open Tennis, Art Basel, Miami International Boat Show, and Bitcoin Conference, we had the debut of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Travel booking site Priceline said Miami was the most popular destination for Generation Z tourists (ages 18-25) during this year's Spring Break, with Fort Lauderdale coming in second.
According to Airbnb, in 2021, Miami welcomed 710,000 guests and earned $200 million.
Miami Airport become the busiest in the country, so a short-term rental in this area is a potential gold mine.
And we can't forget that immigration from other states and big companies opening offices (most recently Citadel and Blackrock) will undoubtedly increase the travel business.