Do we expect the travel nurse rental market to slow down anytime soon?

Question

We've done very well catering to travel nurses via MTR's the last few years.

What is everyone's long term outlook on this strategy, and do we foresee travel nurses going to continue to be a healthy tenant market to cater to?

Thanks for sharing!

Zachary Deal · Answer

Definitely recommend checking out @Shaan Puri post. Interesting insight into MTR demand given there is not an AirDNA equivalent for MTRs yet.

Regarding MTRs, I think that's it's important to not put all your eggs in one basket (like travel nurses) as demand can always shift. Try to market and target as many groups as possible - travel nurses, people relocating to the area, digital nomads, insurance placements, etc. When marketing your property cast a wide net and posts as many places as you can such as Furnished Finder, Airbnb and VRBO (30+ day stays), Facebook, and sites like ALE solutions for insurance placements.

Jamie Banks · Answer

I operate in 6 different markets and while most of them have seen a slowdown in traveling nurses theres one market where travel nurse demand has increased drastically.

If your well position near multiple hospitals travel nurses and other medical professionals will always be a potential guest. Sometimes you can call the local hospital's housing department to learn there plans for hiring travelers for the upcoming 6-12 months.

However, travel nurses are seeing lower pay and have been asking for more discounts lately. Depending on the offerings of your property, I could see some operators pricing their units too high for travelers.

I personally ensure there's solid demand for at least 3 guest types before venturing into MTR in a given market to not just rely on traveling medical professionals.

Bonnie Low · Answer

This is just anecdotal but in my market (Redding, CA) it hasn't slowed down at all. The demand for travel medical professionals is very local to your hospitals and their staffing needs and patterns. That said, the demand for other types of travelers wanting midterm stays is definitely increasing. Furnished Finders just noted that for the first time ever, searches from non-medical personnel has outpaced medical personnel on their site and they expect that trend to continue. Airbnb is leaning hard into longer term stays. Growing demand and customer diversity is one of the nice things about this space.

Nephtalie Pierre · Answer

Not an expert but travel nurses will still be a healthy tenant market because the healthcare industry demand is strong for nurses..However, the rent amount might differ, given that many are shifting to MTR as STRs are slowing down. Also, people who are overpaying for properties and using MTR to get better cash flow.

Bonnie Low · Answer

Demand for and utilization of travel medical professionals is largely regional. Some areas are continuing to see high demand while other markets have slowed. However, all markets are down from early pandemic highs. Fortunately, demand for midterm rentals is up across the board. There are just more customer types looking for furnished housing, period.

JD Martin · Answer

I have had a couple of LTR tenants who travel for traveling nursing (separate houses, unrelated). They both told me the supply of nurses was getting higher and the pay rates were dropping and were both considering getting out of the business altogether.

Conner Olsen · Answer

10% of my tenants are traveling nurses, 70% are relocating to the area. I wouldn't rely solely on the nurses, although it may be lucrative for many years until we get more people entering the field.

Ben Einspahr · Answer

@Kenny Smith great question! Specifically for Denver Metro Market I do not think demand will slow down at all in the upcoming future.

However, I think supply will start to outpace demand making it appear that demand is declining.

Shaan Puri · Answer

I used ChatGPT to pull and analyze FF stats from market(s) I am interested in [Related comment]Other folks in that thread also have left good tips

Mason Weiss · Answer

In Phoenix we are seeing travel nurse demand slow down, but overall MTR demand grow. It depends on your property type, larger single family homes are difficult for travel nurses to afford even with generous stipends but there are plenty of other tenants looking for furnished rentals through Zillow and Airbnb.

Do we expect the travel nurse rental market to slow down anytime soon?

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