Are things really that slow in the Smokies? It depends...

[Collin Hays]

If you own a vacation rental in the Smokies, it might feel like demand is soft. And it is soft. But compared to what?

As I look at my company's pace report, most properties are merely reverting back to 2019-esque numbers.  But from 2020 through 2023, we experienced a market imbalance fueled by a number of factors:  Revenge vacations resulting in not enough supply, cheap money, and lots of sunshine pumping by "seasoned" real estate pros.

So if you bought in 2019, it's likely that today's numbers are working out quite good for you. Certainly not like the bubble years, but a fair return nonetheless. If you overpaid in 2020-2023, based upon bubble multiples, the picture isn't as rosy.

You have a choice to make:  Cut your losses or grind it out. I bought right before a bubble bust once - back in 2005. It was painful. But I chose to just hang on, and today I am glad I did.

[John Underwood]

Absolutely save money for reserves.

When I first started in Real Estate investing, I reinveted every earned dollar back into the business.  It took me about seven years to be able to quit my job as an engineer.

This was mainly from buying inexpensive properties from motivated sellers for cash.

Buying nice STR's with leverage is a much longer game especially this environment.