How These Airbnb’s Compare to Your Average Real Estate Listing

Written by Posted On Monday, 26 November 2018 11:10

An Airbnb is a great option for a weekend getaway. While many peruse the listings for affordable lodgings in different vacation spots, some are looking for more upmarket options. This study looks at the most expensive Airbnb option in each state, and wow, some of these prices could make Kim Kardashian do a double take!

Surprisingly, many of the most expensive Airbnb listings came not from New York or Washington D.C. but from more obscure cities. In fact, the state with the most expensive Airbnb was Missouri. For a cool $12,000 per night, you too could rent the most lavish Airbnb Farmington, Missouri has to offer for a 3 day weekend in June. For the same cost as that 3-day, 2-night stay, you could pay 34 months worth of the average monthly housing cost in the same city. Nearly three years worth of rent in three days!

In comparison, the most expensive Airbnb in New York is in Irvington, with a cost per night of $4,500. The average monthly housing cost in Irvington is much higher, and for the cost of a 3-day stay, you can only pay 3 and a half months of the average rent or mortgage in that area.

Washington D.C. has a similar ratio between the cost of their most expensive Airbnb and average rent. A long weekend in Washington D.C.’s most expensive Airbnb will set you back $5,542, enough to pay for 3.6 months worth of average housing costs in that area.

This got us wondering- why are these big city accommodations so much cheaper than their small town counterparts? Does demand really make that much of a difference? The answer is yes- and no.

The fact is, in high-cost cities, there are far more people eager to rent out their sofa or spare room in the interest of making a few extra bucks. This trend was the subject of a recent study in New York looking at Airbnb data over the course of three years. The results indicated that Airbnb activity might contribute to higher rent rates in cities with high amounts of Airbnb activity. This isn’t a big surprise, considering this is how the company started. The founders of Airbnb began their company in San Francisco, trying to supplement their income by renting out space in their living room to guests. As the company grew, the number of hosts grew with it. As housing prices go up, the number of people throwing open their doors to anyone willing to pay climbs, and these illegal short-term rentals cause landlords to raise their prices, and the cycle continues.

Additionally, some savvy business people are renting multiple apartments for the purpose of renting them out to Airbnb guests (in spite of it being directly against Airbnb policy), which deprives long-term renters of housing in favor of short-term renters. This causes demand for long-term rentals to spike, which again, leads to higher rent costs, and on the cycle goes.

This phenomenon explains why Airbnb’s in some of America’s most expensive cities are less expensive than more affordable cities. The prominence of Airbnb’s in large cities and popular vacation spots leads to competition for affordable places to stay, even with the most luxurious listings. On the other hand, it's a smaller crowd flocking to Farmington, Missouri, and with the lack of luxury options, Airbnb hosts can charge what they deem fit. So the next time you’re wondering why a night in Nebraska’s most expensive Airbnb will cost you more than a night in Las Vegas’s height of luxury, you’ll know the answer!

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries