Best Time of the Year to Buy Coastal STR?

[Bryce Jamison]

Is there an ideal time of the year to buy a coastal STR? Specifically I'm targeting the southern NC coast.

If I close in the next few months we'll be heading into the slower season, so I'll have to cover the mortgage with the lowest rents of the year until spring. I'm also wondering if people will be more willing to negotiate in the fall / winter, especially if their property has been on the market for 30+ days.

A local realtor has told me prices on these types of homes are significantly increasing constantly and I'd be better off buying now because the prices will be much higher in a few months. While I do think prices are ever increasing, I tend to be very skeptical of realtor's advice due to the inherit conflict of interest. Yes, they should always act on your best interest, but they only get paid when you buy. 

[Andrew Steffens]

I specialize in Gulf Coast of Florida, so I assume the best times are same/similar.  If you buy now you will have missed majority of 2023 income.  However, it is a good time to buy if you can budget being negative for several months.  If you contract and close in 30 days it will be mid August.  Likely you will still need to do any repairs/upgrades and furnish which we will say takes 30 takes.  Then you are listing mid Sept, one of the worst months of the year.  It is slow because mostly families will be renting beach homes and its back to school time.  You will be hitting the market with no reviews.  You will have to make deep discounts to secure any bookings being 0 reviews and in slow season.  However, if priced right you will still get bookings.  Assuming you have a good asset creating a good experience for your guests you will can rack up 5-10 reviews prior to holidays.  The holidays bring in a pretty penny and you will be at 10-15 good reviews going into Spring Break and then the next summer season positioning you to take full advantage of 2024 income.

The end of summer through the end of the year is a great time to get a house IMO.  Values may be up 1-2% in a hot market however there are less buyers so depending on the market you can get a deal.