How Will Rental Companies Like AirBnb Impact the Florida Keys Housing Market in 2022?

Home rental companies have become big business around the country. Companies like AirBnb and HomeAway have properties in virtually every major market, offering short term rentals in popular destinations like the Florida Keys. It is easy to see the short term rental market as unrelated to the housing market, as one deals with short term or vacation rentals, and the other with residential real estate purchases. According to industry expert and real estate writer Chris Linsell, these two seemingly independent industries will come together in a big way in 2022.

At the 2021 REALTORS Conference and Expo in San Diego, Linsell was welcomed as an authoritative speaker on the subject of the current and future nationwide real estate markets. In his speech he predicted that AirBnb will have a great impact on the housing market in 2022. Home rental companies rely on local real estate markets to supply their inventory. Many markets around the country, including the Florida Keys real estate market, have been struggling already with lack of inventory. Linsell predicts that home rental companies like AirBnb will purchase large amounts of inventory in tourist-friendly areas in 2022, now that the economy and the tourism industry have recovered from pandemic-induced restrictions. He predicts that AirBnb alone will likely increase their rental inventory by a staggering 25%. Where are these properties coming from? Many of them will be residential MLS listings for sale in the Keys and other areas around the country. In a time when inventory is already historically low, this could have major implications for those looking to buy real estate in the Keys. Most markets are expected to see relief in this area in 2022, according to industry experts. Areas like the Keys, however, due to popularity from tourists, could be impacted by home rental companies purchasing inventory and causing the intense competition to remain through 2022 as well. Linsell predicts an overall net-negative impact on both availability of inventory in 2022, as well as affordability. As 2022 nears, realtors and buyers alike should closely monitor inventory fluctuations that could result from AirBnb and others purchasing homes to flip into rentals.