Skift Take
Early investors in vacation rental markets are realizing three's a crowd.
Garrett County, which houses the Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, has a story to tell about short-term rentals — one with ebbs and flows.
In 2017, personal income growth in the county was 1%. The following year in 2018, home sales in Garrett declined 3.4% and their prices slid 8.4%.
And then came 2020 and the pandemic. Home sales in Garrett County jumped nearly 37% in 2020, while average prices rose 26% to $436,946.
The numbers were headier in 2021 — in March, sales in Garrett were up 71%, and average prices rose to $567,688.
The picture today looks more lackluster.
“Following the pandemic, Deep Creek was one of the most profitable areas in the country,” said Tiffany Edwards, a strategic consultant for short term vacation rental organizations. “You had all of D.C. going there, and that’s slowing down after doing extremely well for two-three years,” Edwards said.
After one vacation rental, then came too many, too quickly. The excess supply was led by low interest rates, resulting in a drop in occupancy and a steady increase in the number of available listings.
“The market prior to 2