Thoughts on Canyon Lake, TX

[William Brock]

I recently posed this same question regarding Lake LBJ & Lago Vista, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with STRs in Canyon Lake, TX? I only have long term rentals and am looking at investing in a lake house to use myself a couple times a year, but to rent the rest of the time. So my questions are:

• What are the annual occupancy rates? Good or bad relative to other nearby
• What means to you use to come up with your nightly rates?
• Anyone using Evolve Vacation Rental management or other companies? TurnKey? Vacasa?
• What's your ROI? This number seems to be somewhat tricky to nail down.
• Are there better or worse areas to invest or watch out for, for whatever reason?
• Any tips or tricks?

Thanks for any and all advice and have a great week!

[Kevin Noell]

@William Brock, thank you for the update! Looks like you are close to the water with some nice views! I'm glad to hear it is working out for you so far. 61% occupancy is more than I thought for this area, so I'm pleasantly surprised. I am excited to get into the STR space hopefully in CL after having only long term rentals for the past 8 years. I am saving as much as I can for now and hope nothing catastrophic throws my plans into jeopardy. This year has been a roller coaster and not a lot of signs point to a different second half...

[William Brock]

Well best of luck and keep us posted on how it all shakes out :)

[Kevin Noell]

Thanks!  Hope to have some good news in a few months.

[Jon Derickson]

@Michael Smith I'm considering STR's near central Texas lakes and considering Canyon lake & McQueeney. I have heard speculation of McQueeney getting drained in the near future due to safety issues with the dams. Do you have any information about this? If they are drained, will the dams be repaired and the lake reopened? Thanks

[Maggie D.]

@William Brock & @Kevin Noell i'm interested too! 

William thanks so much for sharing. Curious to hear how your STR in Canyon Lake is doing. I'm looking at a few neighborhoods in Hill Country and am having a hard time deciding which one to move forward with.

[Maggie D.]

@William Brock whoops just realized you gave an update above. Thank you so much!! That is incredibly helpful. Maybe we'll be neighbors soon. :) 

[William Brock]

Glad to help @Maggie D., best of luck as well!

[Samir Solanki]

@William Brock

Thanks for all the info. I’m under a contract for a property out in Canyon Lake, mind if I shoot you a message to ask some questions?

[Jason Cordero]

Hi William, 
I'm interested to hear on any updates you may have. 

Originally posted by @William Brock:

So, looking at my airbnb numbers, (which is the only online service I use for the time being), I was booked 61% for 2019. I have talked to others in the area and it really is hit or miss, but good management and a professional listing really seems to make the difference. That being said, I seem to be doing better than most.

I had a couple large ticket items to fix last year that really ate into my profits, but I still ended up positive and with a great retreat from the city that pays for itself. This year our rents are higher than last year and we're booking like crazy, probably going to be closer to 70% occupancy, all due to 130+ reviews and sitting at 4.89/5 rating and a SuperHost badge (those things matter) as of 2 months ago, I have even more ratings now. But, I am expecting a much better year than last if I can keep the maintenance costs down. Last year was around only a 5% ROI after all the issues I went through. This year I'm hoping realistically for 20%+ ROI. It's been a learning process but worth it in the end. Ask me in a couple years and who knows how I'll feel lol.

Dealing with that many different people who are renting the property can be exhausting at times, but putting good systems in place really helps alleviate most extra work and stress. I can't stress enough that getting good systems in place is the key to success. After this year I should have a better grasp on how the property will probably perform going forward.

[Eric Ngo]

I am also looking for a STR in the Canyon Lake area. Does anyone have a good agent that you would recommend?

[Wes Hagman]

Hey @William Brock - Did you or any of the other STR investors in the Canyon Lake area see any difference following this ruling in 2020? This is a bummer because if its at the city level than it would mean both properties under HOAs and ones not under HOAs would be affected if they truly enforce this.

[Clint G.]

@Wes Hagman

There are a ton of STRs in Canyon Lake, so I'm guessing that ordinance was reversed or never put in action.

[Clint G.]

@Wes Hagman

Looking at it again, that's actually Canyon Lake, CA.

[Jon Dean]

@Clint G. Thanks for pointing out that the article was regarding Canyon Lake, CA. I read the whole article and didn't notice. I've spent seven months remodeling an STR in Canyon Lake, TX and will have it available for rent soon.

[Clint G.]

@Jon Dean

Nice! Good luck!

[Chad Choquette]

@William Brock how is your Canyon Lake STR doing? Or anyone else who is reading this thread and has an STR there? I ask because I'm looking into acquiring and launching one in Canyon Lake and haven't found local facebook groups like I have in my home area for STR hosts.

[Lyndsay Zwirlein]

Following!! I've looked into this area as well, so curious everyone's experiences!

[Lallu Tappu]

Following as well. Looking to get into the Canyon Lake or Hills country area for an STR.

[Luis Chug]

@William Brock I also got an STR on Fischer area, I would like to connect to see if we can help each other and share resources. Would you mind if I can message you? Thanks.

[Luis Chug]

Anyone with a pool company recommendation for Canyon Lake?

[Chris Tessmann]

I know this is a bit older of a thread, but if anyone's still following it and looking in the area, I live here (actually looking at the lake, or what's left of it, as I type this), and have myself and a couple of partners (and reliable contractors) looking to really get going on both STR's and LTR's between here, New Braunfels, and San Marcos. Feel free to reach out if anyone's still looking around here!