short-term rentals make up three-percent of county housing
Three percent of San Juan Counties' available housing units are being used as short-term rentals, with about a third of those short-term rentals located in northern San Juan County.
According to a report from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute in 2021 San Juan County was reported to have 172 short-term rentals making up 3.1-percent of the total housing units in the county. The numbers are an increase from 2020 when San Juan County had 152 short-term rentals making up 2.8-percent of housing units in the county.
San Juan County ranks number 10 in the state for shares of total housing used as short-term rentals.
Likewise, Spanish Valley in San Juan County ranks number 10 in the state for cities or areas with the highest shares of total houses being used as short-term rentals.
In 2020, 49 housing units in Spanish Valley were used as short-term rentals, that’s 22.7-percent of total available housing in the area.
Short-term rental properties such as AirBnB, Booking.com, and VRBO have risen in popularity in the past decade. The online sites allow property owners to list their homes for rent on a short-term basis.
While the rentals have provided additional income for property owners, the June 2022 policy document from the Kem C. Gardner Institute notes that
“Academic research indicates a relationship with increasing short-term rental supply leading to a decrease in affordability and housing options as supply is occupied by visitors rather than full-time residents.”
Definition and regulation of short-term rentals in Spanish Valley was included as part of the 2019 Spanish Valley Development Ordinances. With overnight accommodations overlay needed in order to allow short-term rentals in some areas of Spanish Valley.
Additionally short-term rental use is also part of the Draft San Juan County land use, development and management ordinances. A public hearing on the draft update to the ordinances is scheduled for this Thursday, July 14 at 6:00 pm.
While short-term rental listings rose from 1.4 to 1.6-percent of total housing statewide from 2020 to 2021, the majority of that growth (73 percent) took place in Summit, Grand, Rich, Salt Lake, and Washington counties.
In 2021 short-term rentals made up 23.3-percent of the total housing in Summit County.
Coming in at number two was Grand County at 19.3 percent, while Rich County was ranked three with 16.5-percent.
San Juan County neighbors rank four, five, and six with Kane (8-percent), Garfield (6.2-percent and Wayne (4.1-percent).
The policy document from the University of Utah says that the analysis is not intended to draw causality for housing prices, but to provide state and local leaders an account of the size of the short-term rental market and how it relates to the total housing supply.
The document also adds that the Covid-19 pandemic could have added to the popularity of short-term rentals with patrons preferring an independent building to a hotel.
The document states the analysis just accounts for just short-term rentals. The second-home market was not included in the analysis and likely further impacts housing supply, especially in tourist destinations.
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