Choosing Airbnb to rent your property over the old-fashioned way could save Vancouverites about 10 years when it comes to paying off the price of their property.
A new study from online real estate agency Nested has calculated exactly how long it would take you, in months, to recoup the property value based on average rental and Airbnb rates.
Nested’s study pegs the average cost of a three-bedroom property in Vancouver at $1,132,467 (USD $865,344) and the average monthly rental of that property at $2,540 a month. By comparison, the average monthly Airbnb rate for that same type of property totaled $4,037.
According to Nested’s math with the more traditional rental route it would take almost 28 1/2 years (341 months) to recoup the purchase price. With Airbnb it would take just over 17 years (214 months) to make it all back.
Of course the study assumes a 100% occupancy rate for both options. And occupancy rates for Airbnb tend to flucuate around 50% depending on the city. So maybe Airbnb isn’t a better option.
That being said, Vancouver property owners are embracing Airbnb—according to AirDNA there are over 3,800 active hosts in Vancouver.
Last modified: January 26, 2017
I find this to be kind of an irresponsible post considering all of the issues around the lack of affordable housing for Vancouverites. We don’t want neighborhoods full of tourists, we want community in Kitsilano.