Bend Airbnb: Should You Invest?

Are you looking for opportunities to invest in a rental property? Then Bend Airbnb might be one of the most lucrative options you have available.

Despite the drastic inflation in home prices that we’ve seen in Bend in the past two years, investors who can afford a property there will quickly find themselves making significant rental income.

Although first-time homebuyers are struggling to find affordable homes in Bend, the demand is shifting to the rental market and is causing it to grow at the same rate as inflation.

This is why today I want to talk about Bend Airbnb rental properties, and how the real estate market trends in Bend have led to short-term rentals becoming such a profitable investment.

Bend, OR – Real Estate Market Review

Before getting into details related to Bend Airbnb specifically, it’s important to take a look back at the market’s performance in the past couple of years.

Unsurprisingly, the Oregon real estate market was impacted in the same manner that virtually every other market was.

This means that the market saw increased demand for housing and decreased interest rates on mortgages, which led to supply shortages.

However, two factors were unique to the Bend real estate market, which can directly affect the performance of Bend Oregon Airbnb rentals:

A Shift in the Buying Season

Typically, the buying season in the Bend housing market takes place during Spring.

However, due to the supply shortage in 2020 and 2021, buyers have been flocking to the market much earlier during winter out of fear of missing out.

This increase in demand gave more power to the sellers, who ramped up their prices to meet the higher demand, even outside of the typical buying season.

A shift in the buying season can affect the Bend Airbnb market by making new vacation rentals available earlier in the year.

In turn, this will lead to higher competition between short-term rentals in the market during the spring season, which is when occupancy rates are at their highest.

Rising Popularity of Luxury Properties

Another major trend that we’ve seen in the Bend real estate market is the increased demand for luxury real estate.

The median property price in Bend has increased significantly since 2020, with the median property price sitting at around $900,000 as of March 2022.

However, during the past year, roughly 17% of total sales involved properties that closed for over $1,000,000.

This is despite the median home price being in the $700,000 range during 2021, which indicates that these properties were mostly luxury homes.

These luxury homes have become quite popular in the Bend Airbnb market as they are very lucrative.

Due to this, you will find that markets with high median prices are also showing high projected returns for Airbnb Bend properties.

So, let’s take a look at Airbnb Bend Oregon, and how the market is performing now.

Bend Housing Market Performance

Now that you have an idea of how the market performed in the past couple of years, it’s time we take a look at the Bend Oregon real estate performance currently.

The data I will be presenting here comes from Mashvisor’s market reports.

Mashvisor is a real estate analytics platform that collects data from several sources, including the MLS and Airbnb, before applying a sophisticated algorithm to give you the latest accurate market insights and analytics.

Since we’re talking about short-term rentals, I will be focusing on Bend Airbnb insights.

Bend, Oregon

• Median Property Price: $961,425
• Average Price per Square Foot: $480
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 833
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $4,663
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 3.18%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.22%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $211
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 63%
• Walk Score: 29

As you can see from this data, the median property price in Bend, Oregon is very high.

This means that despite the market’s popularity in the past two years, the demand is expected to slow down this year as first-time buyers are finding it more difficult to afford a home in Bend.

However, investors in the Oregon real estate market who can afford to buy a vacation rental will find the Bend Airbnb market very lucrative.

This will result in more investors flocking in to purchase properties, which will present a fiercer competition than before.

The great thing about the rental market in Bend is that rent increased at the same rate as property prices.

Airbnb Bend is no different, and daily rates have increased similarly as evident from the monthly rental income that you see in our data.

Despite this increase in rental rates, the demand for short-term rentals remains high as the average Airbnb occupancy rate sits at 58% in the Bend market.

But to find the best Oregon investment property, you need to look at the neighborhood level.

Bend Airbnb – Top Neighborhoods

Based on Mashvisor’s data, the neighborhoods I’m including on this list all have above-average stats for their projected return on investment.

To find a great investment property in Bend, you want to invest in neighborhoods that are performing better than the larger market.

So, here are the top 5 neighborhoods to invest in Bend Airbnb based on the average projected cap rate and cash on cash return:

Southern Crossing

• Median Property Price: $827,108
• Average Price per Square Foot: $413
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 268
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $5,725
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 5.04%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 5.11%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $198
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 69%
• Walk Score: 39

Old Farm District

• Median Property Price: $895,631
• Average Price per Square Foot: $440
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 35
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $5,156
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 4.06%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 4.11%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $247
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 62%
• Walk Score: 13

Larkspur

• Median Property Price: $656,060
• Average Price per Square Foot: $403
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 81
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $4,067
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 3.88%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.93%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $186
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 61%
• Walk Score: 32

River West

• Median Property Price: $1,014,138
• Average Price per Square Foot: $552
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 274
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $5,504
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 3.42%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.46%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $208
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 70%
• Walk Score: 82

Orchard District

• Median Property Price: $837,945
• Average Price per Square Foot: $456
• Number of Airbnb Listings: 250
• Monthly Airbnb Rental Income: $4,088
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 3.39%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 3.44%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $191
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 59%
• Walk Score: 57

As you can see, only one of these neighborhoods has a median property price that is above the city’s average.

Despite having more affordable properties, all of these neighborhoods are considered prime investment locations due to their high rental rates.

Additionally, all of them have low vacancy rates, with the most expensive one having the highest Airbnb occupancy rate.

This further proves the increased demand for luxury short-term rentals that are considered expensive to buy but are very profitable when it comes to Bend Airbnb.

What Attracts People to Visit Bend?

If you want to invest in a vacation rental in the Bend Oregon real estate market, you must understand what makes it a great vacation destination in the first place.

In this section, I will go over the most notable attractions in Bend, giving you an idea of good locations that can accommodate guests who are visiting these attractions.

At a glance, there are two main things that Bend, Oregon is known for:

Outdoor Activities

Without a doubt, the top reason why people come to Bend is to enjoy the multitude of outdoor adventures that the city offers.

The sun shines about 300 days a year on Bend’s outstanding natural beauty.

This opens up opportunities for skiing, rock climbing, floating down a river, or just going on an aimless adventure in the wilderness.

Craft Breweries/Beer

When they’re not enjoying their time in nature, your Bend Airbnb guests will be sipping on craft beer at a local brewery.

Bend prides itself on having 22 craft brewers, and it is ranked as one of the highest brewery-per-capita cities in the US.

Since visitors will likely be looking to visit the local craft breweries, we recommend checking out the Ale Trail map which includes the city’s brewers.

This map can be useful when planning your investment as it will indicate great locations for owning a short-term rental.

Other Activities

Attractions and activities in Bend Oregon are not limited to the ones I mentioned.

There are several other activities that your guests can participate in, as well as plenty of events taking place year-round.

These include but are not limited to:

• Exploring the Downtown area on foot
• Hiking to the Tamolitch Falls Blue Pool
• Day-tripping at the Smith Rock State Park
• Enjoy the views from the Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint
• Visiting the Salt Creek Falls
• Skiing down Mt Bachelor during winter
• Go shopping in the Bend Old Mill District

All of these attractions can be used to your advantage when you’re trying to find a great location for a vacation rental with a high return on investment.

How to Find Rental Property for Sale in Bend

Now that you know that investing in Airbnb Bend is a great idea, you might be wondering how to invest in real estate quickly before all the good properties are sold out.

The answer I have for you is simple: use Mashvisor.

Mashvisor’s platform was designed to help beginner real estate investors and homebuyers when it comes to finding and analyzing properties.

If you want to search for investment properties in Oregon, for example, Mashvisor allows you to find properties based on their projected Airbnb cap rate among other things.

Finding a Rental Property Using Mashvisor

The process of finding lucrative investment properties is simpler than ever.

On the Investment Property Search page, you simply enter the name of the city or market that you want to invest in, and the map tool will switch to that market.

On the map, you will be able to see how many properties for sale exist in each area or neighborhood.

Activating the real estate heatmap will show you how the average property is performing in each cluster of properties on the map.

As you zoom in, you will be able to look at each property individually along with their details and projected returns.

By using the filters at the top of the page, you can adjust the search results to match your investment criteria based on your:

• Available budget
• Desired return on investment
• Preferred financing method (cash vs mortgage)
• Target rental rate
• Desired property details and specifics

Mashvisor’s Airbnb Calculator

If you want to analyze properties further to see how they are projected to perform in the future, Mashvisor’s Airbnb calculator lets you do that with ease.

Each property listed on the platform has its analytics page which you can view.

On that page, you will find a calculator tool with all the values and details related to the finances of the property.

This includes all the costs and expenses, a mortgage calculator, as well as the results section which includes the property’s traditional and Airbnb cap rate and cash on cash return calculations.

Do you want to use 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.

Bottom Line

Investing in Bend Airbnb is a lucrative idea, especially as the rental rates continue to increase.

However, this option is not available to everyone.

As the median property prices have inflated, many investors became unable to afford to buy a house in Bend, Oregon.

But smart investors will always find a way to finance their investment if the market is tempting enough.

If you decide to invest in Airbnb Bend Oregon, make sure to use Mashvisor to help you out on your journey.