Strong Florida Short-Term Rental markets?

[Maan Najjar]

Hello All,

I live in Orlando and I'm wondering if there are STR markets in Florida with strong rental income. Orlando/Kissimmee market looks very competitive so I'm trying to avoid it.

I've read in Evolve article that Destin rentals shows very strong rental income. A 2-bedroom Destin property grosses $43510 whereas Smoky Mountain grosses $34622 in average. Would appreciate other investors can share their experience in Destin (or other Florida markets)

Best,

Maan

[Villy Ellinger]

@Maan Najjar I'm in Fort Walton Beach/Destin, FL and I mainly work with vacation rental STRs (mine and those I manage for others). Yes, the market here has very high occupancy/constant tourist demand and high gross rental amounts per year. There are some 2/2 on Okaloosa Island (for example in the Waterscape complex) that gross well over $60K. That said... STRs are very hands-on and very dependent on management, unit set up, marketing and the type of financing that you can get. It's not a "if you build it, they will come" situation. I like it here and I make money. But again, anyone that tells you "it's a sure thing" is not being reasonable. Also, if there is no risk there is no return, lol. There is always the risk of hurricanes, etc here. But... there are 3b/3b on the beach grossing close to $100K. My one-room studio (my smallest unit) on the Sound (Intercoastal Waterway) in Ft. Walton, which is 325 sq ft grosses $24K per year. However, it "turns" every few days and is quite labor intensive when it comes to management. Every coin has two sides. If you do it right and can put in the time and the initial investment, you can do really well with STRs in FL in my opinion. But it's not a magic money-maker.