Homeowners can now see potential short-term rental income estimates on Realtor.com thanks to an integration with Airbnb.
Short-term rental earnings estimates for hosting one room or the entire house will be available to homeowners via Realtor.com’s My Home dashboard, according to an announcement on Thursday.
The estimated earnings for a seven-day rental are based on Airbnb data from similar listings in the ZIP code.
A recent survey from Realtor.com and CensusWide found that 39% of homeowners have or would consider renting out part of their primary home, with 23% having rented out their home previously or are planning on doing so in the future and 16% reporting that they are considering renting out part or some of their home in the future.
Financial reasons are the primary motivator for homeowners to rent out their home, as 34% who have rented or plan to rent out their home are doing so in order to save money for a home purchase with a higher mortgage rate, while 29% are doing it prepare for potential upswings in a variable mortgage and 21% are doing it to help pay their current mortgage.
According to Realtor.com, the integration will also enable homeowners to see if it is a good idea to rent out their current home as an alternative to selling it. Of the homeowners surveyed, 60% reported they would consider renting out their current home rather than selling, if they look to buy or rent elsewhere, with 21% citing extra income from a renter and 19% citing the ability to maintain the home equity they have built as primary motivators.
“Short-term rentals are a great way to help with some of the costs of homeownership – renting out their house for a couple days or weeks out of the year when it’s not in use could generate extra income that can be put toward the mortgage, maintenance, or even help cover the cost of a vacation,” Mausam Bhatt, the chief product officer of Realtor.com, said in a statement. “By arming homeowners with information about how much they could potentially make by renting a room or their whole home on Airbnb, Realtor.com is helping them better understand their options and in turn make more informed decisions about their home.”
Realtor.com’s integration with Airbnb comes as many metro areas are looking to crackdown on short term rentals. Earlier this month, thousands of New York City Airbnb listings vanished from the market as the city introduces some of the strictest regulations in the U.S. for short-term rentals. City councils in Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans have passed their own restrictions on short-term rentals.
