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.”
