‘Every single house on our street’ is becoming an Airbnb, says host amid surge in listings

Los Angeles-based YouTubers Kristen and Michael knew their only chance at buying an income-generating property during the pandemic was to venture into the California desert. Last year the couple bought and renovated a 2 bed-1 bath ranch near Joshua Tree National Park. The couple, who asked to go by their first names only, listed it on short term rental platform Airbnb (ABNB) as "Seventh Ray House."

“Even during the slow months, even during the summer, we got booked over every weekend,” Michael told Yahoo Finance.

Roughly a year in, and dozens of YouTube videos about the experience later, the couple is definitely noticing more competition.

“Every single house on our street that has sold within the last year is becoming an Airbnb or has become one,” said Kristen. “And we were one of the first in our neighborhood, actually, that did that.”

Airbnb listings skyrocketed during the pandemic. As it stood in September, 54% of active listings have been added to the platform since 2020, according to AirDNA, a short term rental (STR) data and analytics provider.

Active Airbnb offerings in the third quarter of 2022 jumped 17.5% year-over-year, and 22.1% from the same period in 2019.

The spike in short term rental listings coincides with the pandemic housing frenzy as mortgage rates touched all time lows last year.

Property Management Inc, a property management and real estate services franchise in the U.S. says it added 46% STR supply to its portfolio over the last 12 months

“We’re going to see this [short term rental] industry grow by 2031. This is not going to slow down. We see the money coming in,” PMI’s executive director of short term rentals Marianne Heder told Yahoo Finance.

Throughout much of the pandemic, hosts were able to command top dollar for their dwellings. Remote work and consumers flush with cash helped fuel demand.Airbnb average daily stays cost 5% more than a year ago, and 40% more compared to two years ago.