Airbnb: Florida Has 7 of Top 10 Short-Term-Rental Cities

Miami Beach leads the U.S. short-term rental list followed by Kissimmee. Four of the top 10 cities are in South Florida and three are in Central Florida.

MIAMI BEACH – Airbnb has seen explosive growth in the last few years, even as some cities fight to manage short-term rentals, fearful that they’re taking over their communities. But some homeowners and investors are cashing in.

Florida is Airbnb’s hot spot, finds a new study released from IPX 1031, a 1031 exchange resource. The Sunshine State is home to seven cities of the list’s top 10 cities based on the most rentals through Airbnb per every 50,000 residents.

Miami Beach tops the list with more than 3,400 Airbnb listings per 50,000 people. Kissimmee, Fla. – near Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios – came in at number two. Only one Florida city in the top 30 fell outside the highest 10 spots: Fort Myers at No. 29 with 507 Airbnbs per every 50,000 residents. While Jacksonville fell outside the top rankings, it came in at No. 3 for the greatest growth (up 54%) in Airbnb rentals since 2017.

Top 10 U.S. Airbnb listings per 50,000 residents

Miami Beach: 3,416

Kissimmee: 2,880

Bend, Oregon: 1,659

Daytona Beach: 1,108

Asheville, North Carolina: 1,042

Miami: 1,034

Atlanta: 1,017

Fort Lauderdale: 1,016

Orlando: 988

Hollywood, Fla.: 984

Airbnb has bloomed into a multibillion-dollar company since launching in 2008. The company allows investment property owners to rent out their homes, apartments and condos. To find those with the most Airbnb properties per capita, IPX 1031 analyzed 350 cities data via a short-term rental analytics database called AirDNA.

Charlotte, N.C., has seen the most growth in the number of rental listings through Airbnb since 2017 – a 54.7% jump in Airbnb listings since 2017. Following close behind is Fresno, Calif., with a 54.4% increase, and Jacksonville, Fla., with a 54% uptick.

On the other hand, cities like Chicago, Austin, Boston and Los Angeles have seen the most limited growth in short-term rentals. Washington, D.C., has seen a decrease.

“Some of these cities have been dealing with tighter regulations and restrictions on Airbnbs, which may be the reason for these stagnant numbers,” the IPX 1031 Insight Blog notes.

Source: “2019 State of Down Payment Assistance Report,” Chenoa Fund (October 2019)