Southern Utah/ St. George Short Term Rental Market - Sustainable?

[Chris Rodriguez]

Hi BP Nation-

I’m considering adding some short term rentals to my portfolio in areas that I’d enjoy spending time in.  One of the benefits of COVID, is much greater geographic flexibility for work.  I love the outdoors and find myself in Utah at least a few times a year.

A good friend of mine recently bought a short term rental in a condo / resort complex in St. George, Utah. I stayed there last weekend, and it seems to be super high demand. Lots of folks are escaping the inversion from Salt Lake and getting out of cities with COVID, so I like the potential there.

On the other hand, there are new buildings everywhere, and I’m concerned that the city may get overbuilt and investors will get caught with their proverbial pants down. There aren’t a lot of high paying jobs in the area as well (median household income 58k- https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/st-george-ut-population) , so you’d be relying on people working remote should you have to rent to a longer term tenant in an economic downturn. Also, in the summer months it gets super hot and outside of the 4th of July, I don’t see many people traveling to the area.

My question is to people that invest in Southern Utah - is this growth sustainable? From a short term rental perspective, are the numbers still attractive?  I imagine numbers could do quite well in the peak months and you could squeak by in the slow seasons.

Thanks for the insight

[Dale Desmond]

Hey everyone! Excellent thoughts here! Here are a few thoughts on why I think the VR investor market will continue to thrive here...

1. STG is in the within 5 hrs of 4 large metro areas: LA, PHX, SLC, Vegas. 

2. During the pandemic, people had no place to travel so they rediscovered STG in a whole new light. This ain't your grand daddy's St. George. 

3. TONS to do here year round: golf, mountain biking, ATV areas, hiking, reservoirs, shopping, great restaurants, National Parks, State Parks...I could go on.

4. People travel in groups (family groups, church groups, friend groups) and it's more economical to book a VR & split the costs with another family or families. 

St. George is in the center of a perfect storm that's in a holding pattern.