Alabama City Among Top 25 Markets for Buying a Vacation Rental
August 10, 2018
An Alabama coastal town is one of the top places to invest in a vacation rental home, according to a property management firm.
Vacasa LLC ranks Gulf Shores No. 11 on its Insider’s Guide to the Top 25 Markets for Buying a Vacation Rental.
| Market | Median Home Sales Price | Cap Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forgotten Coast, FL | $336,900 | 9.6% |
| 2 | Smoky Mountains, TN | $231,100 | 8.1% |
| 3 | Kissimmee, FL | $253,400 | 7.1% |
| 4 | Myrtle Beach, SC | $251,000 | 6.9% |
| 5 | Hilton Head Island, SC | $423,500 | 6.8% |
| 6 | Emerald Coast, FL | $397,400 | 6.5% |
| 7 | Ocean City, MD | $291,100 | 6.5% |
| 8 | Okemo/Ludlow, VT | $273,600 | 6.1% |
| 9 | North Kona, HI | $543,900 | 6.1% |
| 10 | Lake Chelan, WA | $388,600 | 6.0% |
| 11 | Gulf Shores, AL | $424,600 | 5.7% |
| 12 | Marco Island, FL | $395,300 | 5.6% |
| 13 | Key West, FL | $804,400 | 5.6% |
| 14 | Coachella Valley, CA | $383,100 | 5.6% |
| 15 | Pensacola Beach, FL | $390,900 | 5.6% |
| 16 | Marathon, FL | $600,100 | 5.6% |
| 17 | Leavenworth, WA | $380,400 | 5.6% |
| 18 | Fort Myers Beach, FL | $419,400 | 5.6% |
| 19 | Park City, UT | $557,700 | 5.5% |
| 20 | Gulf Coast, FL | $457,800 | 5.4% |
| 21 | Sunriver, OR | $393,000 | 5.4% |
| 22 | Central Coast, OR | $312,400 | 5.2% |
| 23 | South Padre Island, TX | $264,100 | 5.1% |
| 24 | North Coast, OR | $371,500 | 4.7% |
| 25 | Big Bear, CA | $336,900 | 4.6% |
According to the guide, there are more than 11,000 vacation rentals in the Gulf Shores area. Vacation homeowners there are expected to bring in an average of $34,610 in annual rental revenue. The median home price for a vacation property is $424,600, and Gulf Shores has a capitalization rate of 5.7 percent.
The list is designed to help homebuyers make an informed decision through data-driven insights and real-time market sentiment.
To compile the list, Vacasa analyzed home sales data in vacation markets throughout the country and overlaid it with performance data for more than 500,000 U.S. vacation rental properties. It compared each region’s net operating income with the cost of buying a home to provide insight on the market’s cap rate that was used to rank each market.
Forgotten Coast, Florida topped the list, followed by Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, and Kissimmee, Florida.
Founded in 2009, Vacasa is based in Portland, Oregon. Along with its subsidiaries, it manages more than 9,000 vacation homes in the U.S., Europe, Central and South America, and South Africa. According to our sister publication, the Portland Business Journal, Vacasa was the fastest-growing private company in the city in 2014 and the largest equity funding recipient during 2017.
Source: "Alabama town ranks among top 25 places for vacation rental homes" Birmingham Business Journal (August 10, 2018) Hanno van der Bijl
Ranking Courtesy of Vacasa