Southern California STR Niches

[David Brooks]

I - like many of us here - are on the lookout for one of those "special" places where it makes sense to buy-and-hold for STR income. It's something I've had my eye on for a few years, and I pulled the trigger on a cabin in Lake Arrowhead earlier this year and have been doing quite well with it (so far - winter is a good time for an STR on the mountain, especially during COVID).

I'm looking for the next spot; right now, numbers are telling me the Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley/Pioneertown area is my next best bet, but I'm worried about oversaturation. Before I pull the trigger on anything, I'm trying to explore other areas in Southern California with potential. I'm looking for advice, but also want to share my own findings for others in a similar position. 

Some areas I've been checking in to include Redlands, Idyllwild, Julian, and Palm Springs - but I can't shake the feeling that there is a perfect area I've missed. I'm happy to provide information about my research and journey thus far, and I'd love to hear what other people are seeing in this general area in these strange times!

[David VanWert]

@Matthew Forrest Sure, here is a link to our listing. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3...

It is a 3B + loft (which I think is key as the ability to have two families share to cost is a huge add to your ADR)

This year has obviously been very challenging given we have had virtually zero STR income for Mar, April, May, September and December. Even though we have been shut down 5 months due to COVID or fires we were still able to gross a bit over 75K YTD. We were projecting 110K-120K gross but COVID had other ideas, hoping next year will be better.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.