Investing in an Airbnb rental in Lake City FL has proven to be a successful trend in most cases over the past number of years, but is it still a good strategy?
Whether you’re new to real estate investing, or if you’re a professional investor with a big portfolio; Lake City in Florida is one of the most lucrative real estate markets to keep an eye on when it comes to owning an Airbnb income property.
So, in this blog we will talk about Airbnb in Lake City FL, why we think it’s a great opportunity for Airbnb investment, and what are the best neighborhoods to keep an eye on.
Why Own a Rental Property in Lake City, FL?
Owning a rental property, in general, is one of the best investments that you can make, and it is considered one of the safest investments with a lot of potential for profit.
When it comes to owning a rental income property, there are two strategies that real estate investors and landlords use for making money in real estate:
As their names suggest, traditional rentals are usually rented out on a monthly or yearly basis, and they are the most common type of income property that you can find anywhere in the US.
Long-term rentals are typically less volatile and a steadier source of income, thus are considered a safer option.
Short-term income properties, on the other hand, are rented out on a daily or a weekly basis for guests who are looking for a shorter stay, which mostly consists of tourists, business travelers, vacationists…etc.
An Airbnb income property is simply a short-term rental that is listed on the Airbnb platform – a platform that has popularized short-term rentals around the globe in the past tens of years and made them a lucrative source of income for millions of homeowners around the world.
Due to their nature, short-term rentals are highly affected by seasonality.
Airbnb demand in coastal areas, for example, increases during the summer when tourists are more likely to travel to these areas. Similarly, an Airbnb rental in Coachella will probably reach its peak booking rate during and around the time of the Coachella festivities.
Why Choose Airbnb in Lake City FL?
When it comes to choosing which rental strategy to use, it helps to look at the performance of such properties in each market to see how they perform on average.
For this, we used the Mashvisor database to look at the performance of both traditional and Airbnb rentals in Lake City FL based on their average cash on cash return.
For those who don’t know what that is – the cash-on-cash return is a metric for measuring your return on investment by calculating the amount of money your property is generating each year compared to the amount of actual cash you’ve invested in it.
Lake City, FL – Real Estate Market Data
- Median Property Price: $306,647
- Median Property Size: 155 Sq. Ft.
- Occupancy Rate: 49.5%
- Traditional Rental Income: $1,218
- Traditional Cash on Cash Return: 2.88%
- Airbnb Rental Income: $2,223
- Airbnb Daily Rate: $127
- Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 5.06%
From the traditional and Airbnb data provided above, we can see that Airbnb rentals in Lake City FL have considerably higher average cash on cash return than traditional rentals there.
While the occupancy rate is slightly an issue, skilled property managers who are able to stand out or who own properties in prime locations will have no problem improving their occupancy rate and therefore significantly improve their overall profits.
With an average $2,223 monthly rental income from Airbnb rentals, and due to the relatively low cost of living in Lake City FL, your Airbnb income property should be able to pay for its own, including the mortgage payments if you’re using a mortgage to purchase the property.
Lake City FL – Real Estate Trends
To know what the real estate market looks like in Lake City FL, we should look at the growth indicators that the city is showing.
Firstly, there are a lot of new houses that are being built in Lake City, which are mostly residential buildings.
This growth in residential real estate indicated the city’s population growth as more people are choosing to move there.
Considering that the real estate market in Lake City is relatively one of the newest real estate markets in the US, it does seem like the city is experiencing an influx of wealthy people with a median household income of $38,000.
One of the best features, and a reason why Airbnb is popular in Lake City FL, is that the city is known for having very little traffic, resulting in less travel time and less noise and air pollution.
In terms of home-owners vs renters: 57% of the population are renting, while 43% own their homes.
Lake City is also a seller’s market, as there is more demand for buying homes than there are homes available for sale, making it a competitive market with rising prices.
Rising prices have of course been the name of the game in the past couple of years – since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out – as this is a trend that was seen throughout the country as demand increased in most suburban markets driving the prices up drastically.
With all of that said, investing in Airbnb in Lake City FL is a great opportunity because the city’s growth will naturally result in more visitors and work travelers coming to the city, which will increase the demand for short-term rentals.
Additionally, since the city is known for its superb education, an influx of new students will increase the demand for short-term rentals, as younger generations are a niche market that is not to be underestimated when it comes to finding guests for your short-term rental property.
Where to Invest in Airbnb Lake City FL?
When it comes to choosing the best location to buy a property in Lake City, it’s important to look at the most popular tourist attractions, activities, parks, restaurants…etc.
Lake City is known for its natural beauty and outdoor activities that attract tourists all year round.
The city attracts outdoor enthusiasts, festival and music lovers, and people who simply enjoy the quietness and serenity that the city offers.
Here are some of the biggest attractions that can help you get more bookings on your Airbnb in Lake City FL:
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Olustee Battlefield State Historic Site
This historic site is located around 10 miles from Lake City. The site also has an interpretive center museum that includes exhibits from the 19th-century battle that the site commemorates.
There is also a 1-mile hiking trail that goes through the area where the Civil War battle took place.
Additionally, during the month of February, there is a three-day festival that takes place at the site, which is an annual tradition of the city since 1976, and it includes a memorial service for the fallen men and ends with a reenactment of the Battle of Olustee.
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Osceola National Forest
The biggest attraction of Lake City is the 200,000 acres forest that surrounds it, which offers endless activities for outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, bikers, and campers.
The lakeshores are very welcoming and serene, and many visitors choose to go swimming in the area’s lakes.
The national forest has a visitor’s center that provides trail maps and brochures, and off-driving is allowed in certain designated areas around the forest.
There are also wildlife viewing areas that offer the opportunity for visitors to see wild animals in their natural habitat in the forest.
Additionally, there are other centers such as the Stephen Foster Fold Culture Center State Park, which is an amazing place to own an Airbnb in Lake City FL. The center is located 10 miles from Lake City and it offers demonstrations on past activities such as quilting and blacksmithing visitors may enjoy outdoor activities there like camping, boating, and hiking.
The creative center is an on-site museum themed after Stephen Foster and his music.
For an Airbnb rental, peak seasonality is during the Memorial Day weekend when the annual Florida Folk Festival takes place in the Osceola National Forest Park, but there are other events that take place throughout the year as well.
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Alligator Lake
For thrill-loving adventurers, the Alligator Lake is a major attraction and another prime spot for owning an Airbnb in Lake City FL.
This lake, as the name suggests, is not for visitors to swim in. But it offers many more activities other than swimming, such as hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, and kayaking. It also features multiple picnic pavilions for family gatherings.
Other Locations in Lake City
The above are all great locations that attract a lot of visitors, meaning potential guests for your Airbnb rental in Lake City FL.
However, they are all locations that are outside of the city center, which means they don’t offer the most in terms of convenience and walkability.
If you’re looking to buy an Airbnb rental closer to the city’s center, the decision goes down to the property having access to nearby amenities such as stores, restaurants, coffee shops, schools…etc.
There are plenty of options when it comes to dining in Lake City, FL. Some of the biggest attractors include:
- Sal’s Italian Deli
- Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant
- Tail Gators
- Lake City Tavern
How to Find an Airbnb Investment Property?
Airbnb in central Florida is popular, so it’s relatively easy to find an Airbnb income property for sale.
However, if you want to buy an Airbnb in Lake City FL, and you’re looking to make money in real estate, then you want to find the best performing investment property that has a high potential for Airbnb profit.
This is where Mashvisor comes in!
Mashvisor is a real estate investment platform that’s designed to help real estate investors find profitable properties for sale based on actual data projections.
The platform includes a number of great tools that can help you find your next great investment with a high Airbnb return on investment using innovative and effective tools such as:
Investment Property Finder
The Investment Property Finder is an interactive map tool that comes with an array of filters to help you narrow down your search when it comes to finding the best traditional or Airbnb rental in Lake City FL.
By showing you each property on the map along with their details, including:
- Property price
- Traditional and Airbnb rental income
- Traditional and Airbnb cash on cash return
- Occupancy rate
And by using filters, you can narrow down your search based on:
- The property price range
- Cash on cash return
- Cap rate
- Property type
- Number of rooms
- Property Status (foreclosure, for sale, pending, or sold)
- Year built
Finally, the tool also features a heatmap function that will give you visual indicators of each area and neighborhood’s performance based on price, rental income, or return on investment for traditional and Airbnb rentals separately.
Neighborhood Analytics
Another great tool that you will need for finding a great Airbnb in Lake City FL in 2022 is the Neighborhood Analytics tool.
This tool lets you analyze each neighborhood to see the average performance of traditional or Airbnb rentals there, as well as the average occupancy rate, property price, and other metrics.
This tool is amazing when it comes to identifying the specific area where you want to invest and for comparing properties with one another.
In fact, the tool will automatically give you neighborhood comps that compare the performance of each property with other similar properties in that neighborhood, including properties that are no longer for sale, in order to give you accurate projections of how each property is expected to perform in the future.
All of these tools can help you tremendously when it comes to finding a great investment property that you can use either as a traditional or an Airbnb rental in Lake City, Florida.
To get access to our real estate investment tools, click here to sign up for a 7-day free trial of Mashvisor today, followed by 15% off for life.
The Bottom Line
Investing in Airbnb in Lake City FL is a great opportunity when it comes to making money in real estate through an Airbnb investment.
Due to increasing Airbnb demand and for housing in general, now is a great time to own a rental property in Lake City, as it will continue to grow in the years to come.
Make sure to seize the opportunity and buy a property before the prices rise further. This means using Mashvisor to help you find a property, analyze it, and close the deal in the least amount of time. Subscribe now to make sure you’re ahead of your competition!