Free STR search

[Nathan Frost]

Where can I go to search for good STR areas to buy in?

[Ke Nan Wang]

Would love to see other's response. AirDNA is very expensive but seems to have the best data based on my other STR investors' feedback. Personally we live in a AirDNA A rated area and we are just doing STR in our backyard and seeing great results but also competition is coming in fast.
Right now with St.Augustine getting more and more crowded and unaffordable, there is a seemingly untapped area in Palm Coast, which feels like St. Augustine 20 years ago. AirDNA shows Palm Coast is a B rated area. It’s a getaway retirement vibe. My uncle bought a beach lot for 70k and built a house on it for 400k recently appraised for $850k. Real estate is still somewhat affordable there. 
The question would be: do we chase what people’s already doing (invest in hot areas with upcoming intense competition) or going into area that has high potential and lead the cause? 
Would love to hear some insight from others. 

[Robin Simon]

Quote from @Ke Nan Wang:

Would love to see other's response. AirDNA is very expensive but seems to have the best data based on my other STR investors' feedback. Personally we live in a AirDNA A rated area and we are just doing STR in our backyard and seeing great results but also competition is coming in fast.
Right now with St.Augustine getting more and more crowded and unaffordable, there is a seemingly untapped area in Palm Coast, which feels like St. Augustine 20 years ago. AirDNA shows Palm Coast is a B rated area. It’s a getaway retirement vibe. My uncle bought a beach lot for 70k and built a house on it for 400k recently appraised for $850k. Real estate is still somewhat affordable there. 
The question would be: do we chase what people’s already doing (invest in hot areas with upcoming intense competition) or going into area that has high potential and lead the cause? 
Would love to hear some insight from others. 

Agree - AirDNA is the best for STR research

Their blog also post good articles on the subject for market-hunting https://www.airdna.co/blog/ran...

[John Underwood]

Google

You can find many top vacation rental articles by using Google.

[Dave Stokley]

First of all I always tell people that if you know your own market well enough I bet you can find some sort of micro-niche to serve - no need to go halfway across the globe. 

Re: your question, you get what you pay for dude. Airdna isn’t that expensive compared to what you’re about to invest in a property.

Also check out STR Insights, which I think has a little more of what you're looking for in terms of finding markets. Also not free.

[Brooklyn McCarty]

So many places. 

Most national parks are great STR markers. Look for true, regional drivable vacation markets with low hotel presence. 😊

[Michael Baum]

Ya know, there really isn't a one stop shop for researching the best areas. So much of the data and articles I have read are too subjective.

One listed Jackson Hole, WY. Yes it is awesome. Yes it gets a lot of visitors. Yes it is crazy expensive with an average price of 1.5m.

Like others have said, solid vacation markets people can easily get to in a pinch. 

[John Mausteller]

Agreed - AirDNA has the most data and if you read through it all and with a monthly subscription, you can do your research and then cancel when you are not using it anymore. 

[Andrew Steffens]

We use AirDNA.  They do publish free articles annually ranking the best areas.  From there you can narrow it down to maybe 3 that interest you and go from there.