I read this in our local news feed today. The Cape is historically pretty crowded during the summer season and difficult to get places to stay if you don’t commit early - sometimes a year in advance. I wonder if the Cape Cod market is an indicator of vacation properties across the country? Any other news on vacation rentals?
‘Strong’ rental availability reported for Cape Cod summer season
“Last year at this point, we were about 80 to 85 percent booked for the July and August time period,” said Blake Decker, CEO of Pretty Picky Properties. “This year we’re at 60 percent booked.”
I would submit that the kind of people who spend the Summer at Cape Cod are eternally unaffected by things like the stock market, the unemployment rate, and inflation. (Except some might actually benefit from those things.)
I’ve been tracking the real estate market in Asheville, NC, where there are many vacation rentals. Starting to see an increase of short term rentals hitting the sale market. Could be seasonal…I haven’t been following the market for much more than a year. Perhaps BenSolar will chime in.
Sis has a very reasonably priced vacation rental that has been booked more than ever, and her daughter has two condo’s in FL that she rents as well. Business is good.
I’m not sure that is a fair generalization. There’s LOTS of regular families that go on vacation on Cape Cod. I see them crossing the Bourne Bridge fairly often as I’m stuck in traffic jam going to to coming home from the Cape.
While there may be lots of private jets landing in and around Chatham, probably not as many in around Sandwich, Bourne, and probably other places as well. Lots of families driving regular cars with New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other New England plates.
It’s just easier to market or find a rental nowadays, thanks to the Internet, which makes investing in vacation homes/rentals more alluring. It all makes sense.
All things real estate come down to 3 things: location, location, location. I’m sure Florida and Cape Cod are different in vacation rental demand.
We have owned a beach condo on FL 30A for 6 years that we have in a rental program. It has always done well but there were “quiet times”, those shoulder seasons around summer vacation and between holidays and spring break. That is when we liked to go.
The past 2 years, booked solid. Maybe a day or two here and there open. People were booking a year plus in advance. This year is back to what it was like before COVID/WFH. Spring break and summer and booked, shoulder seasons open, some holidays getting booked.
Down on the east end near St Andrews state park you simply cannot get into a restaurant after 5. I am thinking the snow birds pull out March 31st. So spring break will see the beach packed, but Easter shouldn’t be so bad. We plan our guests for after Easter and before Memorial day. Seems to be a time when you can get a seat and rent a boat.