St. Augustine’s short-term rental frenzy is fading fast.
With vacancies soaring and expenses piling, hundreds of Old City Airbnb owners are putting their properties up for sale, real estate sources told The Citizen.
One Airbnb operator familiar with the sector said that at least a third of the more than 600 properties currently on the market in St. Augustine’s core areas are owned by Airbnb owners looking to cut their mounting losses.
“The smart ones already got out,” the source said. “Now everyone else is trying to, but the homes are just sitting. I think you are going to see a lot of fire sales here soon. People are losing money.”
It’s a dizzying reversal of fortune from recent years, when St. Augustine Airbnbs were perceived as inexhaustible money machines.
“People were paying exorbitant prices for these homes during the boom,” the source said. “Everyone thought they were going to get rich. Bidding wars got out of control.”
Many of those buyers — especially those who entered the fray in 2022 or 2023 — are seeing their purchases go south.
The marked slowdown in bookings stems from a variety of factors, according to industry experts.
General economic worries — fueled by inflation and layoffs’ fears — have lessened travel across the board, not only in St. Augustine.
The pain of higher Airbnb vacancies, sources said, has been compounded by skyrocketing insurance and cleaning service costs.
In addition, some travelers began to chafe at the rising cost of an Airbnb booking — and onerous lists of house rules.
The pendulum, local real estate observers said, has swung back in the favor of hotels.
“People are starting to realize that they aren’t making the numbers they thought they were,” the source said. “They were sold a bill of goods.”
One buyer who paid $1.45 million for an Airbnb property at the market’s apex hasn’t had a night booked for more than a month.
Another downtown Airbnb owner with a home on the market ruefully told The Citizen that they are now having to reconsider their retirement date.
“At this point, I’ll be relieved if we lose less than six figures on this house when you add it all up,” she said. “We took a chance, and it didn’t turn out as expected.”
Some of the Airbnb properties have already seen major price reductions as sellers try to coax buyers in a high-interest rate environment.
“Is it a struggle for a lot of sellers right now?” a St. Augustine real estate agent said. “Yes. The buyer is in the driver’s seat. But I wouldn’t say it’s a panic. If rates stay high, things could get worse. But that’s not a given.”
Other property owners are ditching the Airbnb model and switching to conventional long-term rentals.
The contraction of St. Augustine’s Airbnb market will no doubt please many locals who bemoaned their sudden ubiquity in recent years.
The profusion of short-term rentals, they’ve argued, detracts from the city’s ambiance and has fractured once closely-knit blocks.
“It just became oversaturated,” the source said. “You could see this coming. When people were complaining about all the new Airbnbs, I wanted to tell them to just wait. Now it’s happening.”
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37 Responses
Hi,
Are the owners of the properties saying it’s due to location of the rental is part of the issue?
Yep. Own an Airbnb on the beach. Hard to sell. Fees. Assessments have been tremendous. Insurance way up. It’s going to be hard. Hope to make a buck.
We have a downtown rental and while we experienced some slow down during 2024 our 2025 bookings are picking up and we are on par to make the same as 2023. I think location, amenities and shorter length of stay options are key to being successful in the current economic climate.
Absolutely agreed. It’s all about location, multi unit properties as we have and zoned for one night rentals like a hotel. Individual homes tend to struggle more especially if there is a minimum three nights or a week rental. One and two night rentals hotel style is where it’s at really. Our calendar this month looks like it did in Knights of lights in December. We’re slammed busy. We also live on site self manage and handle all of our own cleanings. Nine individual units two properties.
The market is oversaturated. In my neighborhood most of the previous long-term rentals were permitted to be converted to ST. That took approximately 24 units from local families. The neighborhood has very few actual neighbors.
Rich people problem. Consequences of greed.
Nope not rich people, small business owners and investors in a community. I wish m more people understood that most small business owners are not rich, they are just willing to take a risk and invest in a community.
More people rent than own. Turning long term rental into vacation rentals has put immense pressure on the long term renters, and first time buyers. Your “small business” is contributing to the lack of affordable housing and making the poorest people even more poor
Oh, I think we all understand.
If you live next door to your short-term vacation rental, then I’d believe this sentiment more. otherwise this “willing to take a risk and invest in a community” statement is asinine.
But whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night…
How exactly do you invest in a community by plopping a nuisance on their streets. Airbnb guests notoriously take away from community as they are not part of it. So if you want to lie to yourself and tell us this wasn’t about a fast buck go ahead but I am not going to boo hoo for your loss
Invest?? More like destroy…if you want to invest in a community you live in and become a good neighbor you don’t exploit it for money. It’s so painful to be in a neighborhood with the majority of people being total strangers, having little to no respect for the area. People try and convince themselves they are doing something good and noble to “share” the beautiful area…please!!! I had one-yes, just one- next to me and drove me to sell my home of 15 years due to it. I probably sound a little bitter because I am. I would NEVER go on vacation and act like these people acted in a total strangers house…it was mind blowing. They say everything happens for a reason, I have to believe there was a reason for this otherwise it will drive me just as crazy as that house did.
Yup! I agree
No it’s a problem for people who are trying to better themselves financially. Just because you don’t have the funds to invest don’t condescend people that do.
Just because you have funds to invest, doesn’t mean you get to be condescending to others either. If you make a bad investment, you lose money. Just facts
I wouldn’t say rich people problem. But I will say like any investment anything can happen.
Yet, I would like to buy 2 bedroom Abnb home for myself, but these investments keep someone who would like to move closer to their child out.
I’m not an Airbnb owner, but to be fair, the reasons for the super expensive housing can’t be blamed solely on Airbnbs. Because in Florida there are PLENTY houses on the market, but they are expensive and out of many people’s price ranges. And Airbnb alone didn’t cause those high prices. Multiple economic factors figured in.
But soon those prices may come down.
Exactly…
As a long time resident of the area , what has been allowed to take place with so many of these (ABnB) is completely out of control. NOW is the time to take these back and place restrictions and accountability. I personally had to call the sheriff 10 times this year because of problems at these “ Vacation Rentals”. What was suppose to be a neighborhood.
Vote for change ( I wonder how many elected officials own Airbnb‘s in Saint Augustine and why this is not a conflict of interest?)
I’ve been doing STR’s thru Airbnb and VRBO for several years. I agree that too many people jumped in with eyes wide shut recently, thinking they’d make a killing. Like any investment, you have to research the opportunity and have realistic expectations.
Both units are seasonal…a beach place and a ski condo. They both have “shoulder seasons”, so I have year round income. Anyone who thought it would be “easy money” eas foolish. It’s a business, just lake any other. Lots of planning and hard work. If you jump into anything without proper vetting, you’re gonna lose money. Doesn’t matter if it’s real estate, Bitcoin, or Wall Street. “A fool and his money are soon parted”.
Have any considered long-term leases, for people who live here but don’t want to buy property? There is a shortage of rental homes in the area, especially on the island.
I don’t like all the hidden fees.
Ten years ago, I could book a house for much less than the price of a hotel. Then, VBRO got bought out, by Expedia, I think and the fees rose substantially. But a beach house is still the way to go, if you want the true beach experience. My question is if the bookings have gone down, why haven’t prices? Ijs
I have an airbnb in St Augustine and I haven’t had less days rented but I do have shorter stay rentals. Most of my rentals are two days.
Given the policies of the current administration, foreign tourism is going to dramatically decline. And it will stay that way for years to come. This means far fewer short term rentals. Get out while you can.
TRUMP BABY TRUMP!
I would say previous administration got us into this mess
Yeah and you would be wrong
Oh, please stop. The prior president has nothing to do with any of this. The market has changed. I own two 12 mo lease rental homes. The market has just softened so rents are stabilized in the renters favor. That’s fine, it’s a business like any other. STRs with AirB&B and Verbo causes you to have a partner that doesn’t help with anything and is pushing you out of the marketplace with crazy fees. And these cleaning fees, yikes, I’ve never paid that much for a complete clean ever at the end of a lease. So in short, there’s a bunch of greed here. The big guys get their money and you struggle with what’s left. And overall, Florida is seeing a decline in visitors after a bunch of boom years. Why, my personal thought is that we just don’t have consistent weather like we used to. People pay big money to come and it rains or it’s cold, and I mean cold. The ocean isn’t like bath water anymore and Florida had reverted to that broken down look again. I’ve lived here for 35 years. This, environmentally, is not the Florida I moved to. I still love it here but it’s not that slow rolling, chill, maybe skip work and head to the beach state it once was.
We recently stayed for a week in an AirBnB house in Butler Beach. Third straight year we’ve come to St. Augustine from Ohio. Great area to visit and get away from the cold. Don’t think I could live there, though. Too hot in the summer.
Lol awe lol
Making money in a naughborhood. Is not investing in a community. It’s investing in
Realestate.
So sad. I feel so horrible for all those poor wealthy people.
Coming from a northerner who absolutely loves florida and wants to buy a home there am looking elsewhere prices are just as expensive down there as up here moving on from the fla dream. High prices of homes and condos (Hoa fees high ,condo fees high , insurance fees high , no thanks
Airbnb is the worst company. Use another one or rent without a third party.
After 20+ years of renting myself, I had no issues.
Airbnb was nightmare after nightmare. I dropped them two years ago after a renter had the code to get in my house, cancelled the reservation 10 minutes after it was sent because they weren’t following directions.
Had another group pull a similar scam, accessing off-limit areas then requesting a refund.
Airbnb fully refunded both groups, even though my cancellation policy is not the same day. That’s not anyone’s policy. I’m owed thousands of dollars from them.
This article could not be further from the truth. Not sure were the author got his info from. The city parking lot is full and closed at any given Saturday by 1pm because it’s full of cars. They can hold 1100 cars and I’m in the parking business, my lots are full. I also manage 15 plus short term rentals and I’m. booked and booming!
St Augustine is the hottest destination this side of Florida. They love us what can I say.
OK, here’s an novel idea for all you nonsense fee parasites, lower your rates. Really, you dimwits are whining and naval gazing instead of doing the one thing anyone with a teaspoon of business wits knows will work. Grow up you greedy babies.
Tried Airbnb.one time and its an absolute joke. I have rentals too and wanted to get into it but I wasn’t allowing some company to control the terms of MY house. The problem I’d say is just Airbnb
News flash for everyone posting who thinks they have the answer: You probably don’t. Take it from a small business consultant, each property is its own story with its own variables and solutions. There is no single reason for this -beyond travel generally being down, which creates stress. How well a property withstands and adapts to that will determine its survival and ability to thrive. So many annoying know it alls!