Jul 9, 2024
Online maps displaying a peppering of short-term rentals in San Diego have sparked a furor on social media, with commenters discussing whether the proliferation of short-term vacation homes across America are contributing to the country’s housing problem.
“So this is why I can't find affordable rental housing for my family,” a user named Kerouwhack commented on a Reddit post featuring one such map.
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Others simply lamented the patrons of platforms like Airbnb.
“Airbnb guests are the loudest rudest renters on my block,” user 710proff wrote on the platform.
Here's why short-term rentals in the city have become a hot topic.
Are vacation rentals driving up housing prices and tightening supply?
Jay Goldberg tracks San Diego's short-term rental locations and posts maps on his website, NiceNeighbors. He believes the rise of vacation rentals are taking away housing options for city residents.
“The concentration is surprising,” Goldberg told CBS 8. “It's feeding into the housing crisis, both in terms of supply of housing available and also the price of housing.”
NiceNeighbors shows a vast number of licensed short-term rentals are along the city's coast.
In a statement to CBS 8, the City of San Diego confirmed there are more than 8,600 short-term rental licenses across the city. According to the Census Bureau, there are around 549,000 housing units citywide.
The cost of renting or buying a home in San Diego is a stunning 116% higher than the rest of the country, according to RentCafe.
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And a recent report from the California Housing Partnership found San Diego County has a shortfall of 134,537 affordable rental homes to meet regional demand.
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'The market has been overrun'
Goldberg thinks the problem is rooted in loopholes in the city's ordinance that let owners license multiple units using the names of family members.
“The market has been overrun with corporate operators who run more than one property, who are doing this as an investment opportunity to capture the most amount of revenue they can,” Goldberg said.
City regulations state only one short-term rental license can be issued per host, and they may not operate more than one dwelling unit at a time.
He also claims to have seen long-term tenants evicted from condo complexes or apartment buildings so the properties can be converted to short-term rentals.
Another Reddit user named socal-sally says they’ve seen a similar situation unfold for their daughter’s third-grade teacher.
“Now the teacher has to leave Point Loma and live somewhere else nearby because he can’t afford to rent here anymore,” they wrote.
This problem of investors buying up homes isn’t just limited to San Diego, either. Investors bought a record 26% of low-priced U.S. homes that sold in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Redfin.
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Serah Louis is a reporter with Moneywise.com. She enjoys tackling topical personal finance issues for young people and women and covering the latest in financial news.
