Airbnb Drives Up Rent Costs In Manhattan and Brooklyn, Report Says (cnet.com)

According to a report from New York City's comptroller, Scott Stringer, Airbnb is causing rent prices to increase significantly in Manhattan and Brooklyn (Warning: source may be paywalled: alternative source), where the majority of the company's rentals are concentrated. The New York Times reports: In Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods and the Midtown Business District, which accounted for about 11 percent of all Airbnb listings in New York City in 2016, average monthly rents increased by $398 between 2009 and 2016, of which $86, or 21.6 percent, was a result of Airbnb's presence, the report said. In Greenpoint and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, the study said, rents went up 18.6 percent in those years because of Airbnb listings. Airbnb makes it easy to rent apartments to tourists, taking units off the market for full-time residents, the report said. The report said that Airbnb's influence cost New Yorkers $616 million in additional rent in 2016 as a result of price pressures.

Comments

I got mine

[fluffernutter]

It shouldn't be called the gig economy, it should be called the "I got mine" economy. I'm also partial to the "screw you" economy.

Re:...and?

[Actually, I do RTFA]

. So you flood an area with tourists and the rents go up?

There's no reason to think there are more tourists visiting NYC. Occupancy rates in hotels are down, year-over-year.

You are right that you have to look at mutliple factors, but you probably would want to compare rents, inflation and wages. After all, the important thing to the average renter is what percent of their money goes to rent.

Short term rental should have restrictions

[mark-t]

Rental periods of less than a single calendar month in length should force the entire building to be qualified as a hotel, and require that there be no long term rental or ownership of any units anywhere within the entire building, beyond at most what is necessary for any dedicated management and/or maintenance staff.

Just IMNSHO....