Top 10 best and worst cities to own a vacation rental home
In the last few years, with the popularity of platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, many home owners decided to turn some of their properties into vacation rentals. Instead of renting the property for an extended period of time to one renter, owners could make more money from renting it a few days at a time to many different people who were looking for a place to stay while traveling.
To help those who want to rent vacation homes, navigate the challenges ahead and choose the right place to start, LawnStarter ranked the 10 best and worst places to own a vacation rental home in the United States. The ranking process was based on comparing 180 of the biggest cities in the country through six categories; legal restrictions, occupancy rate and potential revenue were also considered amid 18 total metrics.
What are the 10 best cities to own a vacation rental in the U.S.?
Durham, North Carolina.
Birmingham, Alabama.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Mobile, Alabama.
Anchorage, Alaska.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Rochester, New York.
Mesa, Arizona.
Charlotte, North Carolina.
If you are surprised that many of the big touristic destinations in the country aren’t part of the list, it could be due to the fact that LawnStarter added a legal category for this year’s ranking. The category penalized cities with restrictions on rental period, number of guests and property type.
Some of the unexpected cities in the top 10 are college towns, which can be lucrative since there are always families looking for flexible options when visiting kids in college or when celebrating for their favorite university.
Besides its distance, No. 5 — Anchorage, Alaska — is also the 23rd highest revenue among the other 180 cities considered in the research, collecting an average of $29,050 last year.
What are the 10 worst cities to own a vacation rental in the U.S.?
Huntington Beach, California.
Sunnyvale, California.
Pasadena, California.
Des Moines, Iowa.
San Francisco, California.
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Long Beach, California.
Palmdale, California.
Santa Rosa, California.
Los Angeles, California.
Thirty California cities ranked in the lower half of the research, with eight making it to the top 10 worst cities. The bad results for California are mostly based on high initial investment and operating costs, along with legal restrictions. Due to the housing market situation in California, many cities have stablished measures to incentivize long-term rentals and home ownership. The state is even considering taxing short-term rentals.
To read the full study, visit the LawnStarter website.
