25% of all households in Culebra, Old San Juan are rented through Airbnb
The impact of Airbnb in Puerto Rico is such that it already exceeds 10,000 properties on the Island, according to an analytical report by Estudios Técnicos Inc.
In tourist zones like Culebra
and Old San Juan, a quarter of all homes are listed through the digital renting
platform, which demonstrates its very high penetration in the Puerto Rican
market.
Estudios Técnicos Inc.’s
analysis measured the penetration of Airbnb in Puerto Rico as a percent of all
existing housing in a locality, which are listed on the platform.
“To find where these properties tend to converge, we used the total number of households in each zip code and contrasted it with the number of Airbnb units,” said Roberto A. López, economist and market analyst at Estudios Técnicos Inc.
“The places in Puerto Rico
where there is a greater penetration of Airbnb are the main coastal zones: Culebra,
Old San Juan, Ocean Park, Vieques, Rincón, and Isla Verde,” he said.
In Culebra there are 1,519
homes, of which 416 are properties listed on Airbnb; this reflects a
penetration of 27.4 percent. Meanwhile, 1,012 properties of the 4,165
households in Old San Juan are Airbnb units, for a penetration of 24.3 percent.
By contrast, the areas with the
least penetration of Airbnb are in the center of the island, including Corozal,
Yauco, Las Piedras, Guayanilla, San Lorenzo, and Villalba.
Lopez stressed that the average
daily rate of a property on Airbnb depends on its proximity to the beach and
the area’s property value, in that order.
“The most expensive rented
properties in Puerto Rico are in Dorado ($420 per night, on average), Palmas
del Mar ($300) and Río Grande ($268). This list also includes Vieques ($204)
and Culebra ($193), which means that they are not only areas of high penetration,
but also of high price. These two characteristics together make these
municipalities ideal places for an investor in short term rentals,” said López.
The report states that the most
recent number of Airbnb properties in Puerto Rico is approximately 10,000
units, according to AirDNA and Estudios Técnicos Inc’s own estimates.
The areas with the most Airbnb
properties are Rincón, with 1,201 units; Miramar, with 1,183; Torrecilla Baja,
San Juan, with 1,180; Old San Juan, with 1,012; and Ocean Park, with 986.
“With a greater number of
properties and tourist facilities, it is logical that the metro area also has
the most Airbnb units. But a high proportion of Airbnb units in the metro area
are in condominiums, which explains the attention that has been given to the
subject in the discussions about the new condominium legislation,” said López.
