150K+Units removed from long-term housing in top-10 tourist cities
13%Rent increase in high-Airbnb-density neighborhoods
$14KAnnual STR revenue premium vs long-term rental
1.3MTotal US Airbnb/VRBO listings (2024)
When a landlord puts their apartment on Airbnb instead of renting it long-term, that apartment disappears from the pool of homes local people can live in. Do this 150,000 times in tourist cities, and suddenly there's way less housing available — so rents go up for everyone who's left competing for what remains.
Short-term rentals (STRs) are more profitable than long-term leases in tourist markets — often by $14,000/year or more. When enough units convert to STR, housing supply for residents shrinks, pushing rents up. NLIHC research found a 1% increase in STR listings correlates with a 0.4-0.8% rent increase in the same zip code. Cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, and New York have now imposed strict STR limits — with measurable rent relief in Barcelona neighborhoods that banned them.
Barron, Kung & Proserpio (2021) "The Effect of Home-Sharing on House Prices and Rents" (Marketing Science): quasi-experimental design using Airbnb rollout timing as instrument, finds 10% increase in Airbnb listings → 0.42% increase in rents, 0.76% increase in prices. Effect concentrated in high-density tourist markets. Inside Airbnb data (2024): 150,000+ "whole home" listings that are unavailable for long-term occupancy in top-10 markets (NY, LA, Miami, Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, New Orleans, Austin, Seattle, Chicago). Regulatory response: NYC Local Law 18 (2023) effectively ended most STRs; Barcelona extended STR ban; Edinburgh cap at 30 nights/year.
Inside Airbnb scraped data: insideairbnb.com/get-the-data. 150K estimate from "whole home/apt" listings with 365-day availability in top-10 MSAs. Barron et al. (2021): Marketing Science 40(1):23-47, DOI:10.1287/mksc.2020.1227. NYC Local Law 18 implementation July 2023: nyc.gov/site/buildings/index.page. NLIHC: Out of Reach 2024. AirDNA rental revenue data for STR vs LTR premium calculation. Barcelona STR ban study: Ayuntament de Barcelona Pla d'usos 2017, evaluation 2022.
The Housing Drain by City
Every whole-home Airbnb listing is an apartment that a local resident can't rent. Here's the scale of removal in major tourist cities.
Whole-Home STR Listings Removed from Long-Term Market (2024)
Units unavailable to local renters — occupied by tourists instead (Inside Airbnb / AirDNA 2024)
STR Density vs Rent Increase
More Airbnbs in a neighborhood = higher rent for everyone (0.42% per 10% STR increase)
Annual Revenue: STR vs Long-Term Rental
Why landlords convert — the profit gap that drives housing loss
What Happened When NYC Cracked Down
New York City's Local Law 18 (August 2023) required STR hosts to register and be present during guest stays. Within 6 months, 15,000+ listings disappeared from platforms. Early data shows these units returned to the long-term market, contributing to a modest 2-3% rent stabilization in previously high-STR neighborhoods. The experiment is working — and being copied by other cities.
Sources
Inside Airbnb (2024) · AirDNA Market Reports (2024) · Barron, Kung & Proserpio, Marketing Science (2021) · NLIHC Out of Reach (2024) · NYC Dept of Buildings Local Law 18 implementation data