Airbnb has managed to become a benchmark when it comes to looking for a flat to rent. The platform is so relevant that it has caused a direct hit in the rental price and cities like Amsterdam have declared war. Paris by the way also. Things have also gotten interesting in New York, and a new study indicates that there are more rentals listed on the platform there than are actually available in New York. Something weird happens.
Airbnb and ghost rentals. And report A recent report from the real estate company Douglas Elliman indicated that in Manhattan, Brooklyn and part of Queens there were 7,699 homes for rent. If you search for Airbnb rentals in those areas, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 results if you use services like Inside Airbnb. Because the difference?
various tricks. As indicated and CurbedSome of that housing may be townhouses or condominiums that are rented out for just a few weeks a year, but many, they say, are almost certainly garden apartments, separate from but still part of the main home, and can be rented out. throughout the year by the owners of the apartments.
In New York they already tried to fight against Airbnb. The city approved in 2016 a law that made it illegal to list short-term rentals on Airbnb. According to this measure, it would not be possible to rent flats for less than 30 days in buildings with several available rental homes —something that was already prohibited before— but also not including those offers on platforms like Airbnb. If you broke that law once, you could be fined $1,000. The second, the fine was $5,000. The third, 7,500.
What they say on Airbnb. The company has not commented on the figures and has repeatedly denied that they have any impact on the housing supply shortage. They did point out how that data from services like Inside Airbnb can be inaccurate: the same home can be listed multiple times or homes that appear active but are rarely available can be shown.
And meanwhile, rising prices. On Airbnb they also highlight how the offer has been reduced in the last two years “and now represents a fraction of the percentage of rental housing available in the city, and all while rental prices tend to rise and permits issued by the city to new housing development continues to drop by a double-digit percentage. When it comes to prices, of course, they are not wrong: renting an apartment in Manhattan for a month costs an average of $3,925.
