It is without a doubt that America is facing a housing crisis. Adequate, affordable housing is a basic need that should be easily accessible to all individuals of society. The challenge of maintaining affordable housing in society impacts not only lower income individuals and families, but touches upon all those involved in the housing
markets, ultimately resulting in detrimental consequences to communities as a whole.
Though, many fail to recognize the role that short term rentals are currently playing in depleting an already short supply of housing. To combat such struggles, market researchers are examining the implications of advancing and strengthening regulations regarding many many of the popular short term rental companies such as Airbnb, Homeaway, VRBO, etc.
Alright so you might be asking, how do Airbnb’s relate to the affordable housing crisis and why should we care? Well, it connects back to understanding how our market and economy act hand in hand in this crisis. Think about it, if Airbnb takes homes that could have housed permanent individuals and instead converts them to short-term rentals that are removed from the housing market all together, we are depleting an already short supply of housing. These units that could have housed long-term residents are now removed from the pool, leaving a scarce supply of housing in an already empty region. It’s like we are working with a checkbook that just won’t balance. How are we supposed to resolve this issue when we are the ones that are seemingly continuing to contribute to it?
It's almost as though we are unintentionally adding fuel to the fire. This conversion of what could have housed long-term residents is driving rents through the roof. Thus contributing to the immense rent gaps in our economy. Okay, but what now? Well continuing to educate ourselves upon this displacement (specifically in terms of short-term rentals), is critical to finishing the puzzle. But things are always changing, so taking the time to educate yourself and stay up to date on whats happening in the housing market is equally as vital in making sure you are proactive to the changing market.
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