One of the hottest topics of debate is that short-term rentals (STRs) are to blame for increased pricing and a lack of affordable housing. Some cities, including Denver, claim that the reason they chose the primary residence requirement was to protect housing affordability. However, EXL’s own study contradicts the common misconceptions that STRs are to blame for the lack of affordable housing.
In a Wall Street Journal article published in November of 2019, it was reported that STRs have not significantly contributed to the rise in American housing costs, according to a nationwide study by Oxford Economics. “In the first such study to cover every U.S. county where data was available, the report found that over a four-year period only 0.2 percentage point of the 4.3% rise in inflation-adjusted rent could be attributed to the effects of short-term rentals. For home sales, the increase amounts to less than $9 on the average monthly mortgage payment.”
In April of 2019, Excise & Licenses hired Denver Economic Development and Opportunity to research the impact of STRs on the housing marketing. The findings showed that STRs make up 1% of the housing supply and therefore the report concluded that STR’s do not impact housing prices nor rents.
It’s time to put the affordable housing argument to rest. It’s time to find a way to allow citizens to practice their rights while also ensuring outside investors can’t just swoop up the block.