While New York City may be cracking down on Airbnbs, short-term rentals continue to be big business for homeowners across the country. And as high interest rates are keeping some in the properties longer than anticipated, Realtor.com has launched new data integration that provide rental estimates on their residence.
Launched this week, homeowners can input their address in the Realtor.com My Home dashboard to claim their home. They can then view their potential earnings from hosting on Airbnb in the Host or Rent tab of the dashboard.
The interactive tool can be adjusted for renting a private room or all of the home; estimated earnings for a seven-day rental are based on Airbnb data from similar listings in the ZIP code. The ability to host and a homeowners’ actual earnings will depend on local laws, availability, rental price and demand in the area.
“Short-term rentals are a great way to help with some of the costs of homeownership—renting out their house for a couple days or weeks out of the year when it’s not in use could generate extra income that can be put toward the mortgage, maintenance, or even help cover the cost of a vacation,” said Mausam Bhatt, chief product officer, Realtor.com. “By arming homeowners with information about how much they could potentially make by renting a room or their whole home on Airbnb, Realtor.com is helping them better understand their options and in turn make more informed decisions about their home.”
According to the company report, 60 percent of surveyed homeowners would consider renting out their current home rather than selling if/when they look to buy or rent somewhere else. Most cited financial reasons as the motivator: 21 percent saying it’d be great to have extra income from a renter, and 19 percent would do so to maintain the home equity they’ve already built.