This year has been an eventful one for short-term rentals around the world: The boom-bust saga and seeming unending fights about new regulations.
06.12.2023 - 04:24 / skift.com / Srividya Kalyanaraman
Happy hump day! And we continue to discuss the housing market and mortgages.
There was a 47% drop in mortgage-rate locks (a lock-in fixes an interest rate between the offer and the closing) for second homes in the U.S. in August compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to new data from real estate listing site Redfin. The data underscores a 14-month trend of second-home demand remaining at least 30% below pre-pandemic levels, largely due to high housing costs and limited inventory. In February, rate locks for second homes reached a seven-year low, plummeting to 52% below pre-pandemic levels. Year-over-year, demand for second homes has also dipped by 19%, surpassing the 14% decline for primary homes.
The numbers mean people aren’t buying as many investment properties as they were during the post pandemic rush.
What’s worse is that the confidence of U.S. homebuilders is also declining — for the first time in seven months due to persistently high mortgage rates. According to more numbers from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builder confidence in the single-family housing market dropped 5 points in September to a reading of 45 out of 100. Builders are hence offering more incentives to buyers like 32% reductions in prices in September; in August the discounts were about 25%.
What does this mean? I think you know what it means.
“We are experiencing some type of recession, either a semi or quasi recession,” said Christopher Ledwidge, executive vice president of The Lender, a wholesale mortgage company. “We had a shelter in place during Covid, and then a bunch of money flooded in, which left people with extendable cash. This was around the time when STR was booming and now everything has gone the other direction.”
Ledwidge added, “People are at the tailend of Covid money and deferments on debt. So the moratorium on debt payment is over, at a time when the cost of living is higher.”
Short-term rentals today cost more money to operate and consumers have less money to spend. This is nowhere more apparent than in California where, despite falling population numbers, homes are unaffordable and the housing shortage is rampant.
HomeToGo Appoints Chief Investment Officer
German vacation rental marketplace HomeToGo appointed Bodo Thielmann as its chief investment director in a newly created position. In his most previous role, Thielmann was the CEO of Destination Solutions (HRS Group), a key HomeToGo partner, and has previously been the CFO at Oyo Vacation Homes. Thielmann will spearhead HomeToGo’s efforts to acquire, integrate, and expand profitable businesses. The company aims to utilize its substantial cash reserves to drive both organic and inorganic growth.
Jun
This year has been an eventful one for short-term rentals around the world: The boom-bust saga and seeming unending fights about new regulations.
Standing on a frozen ridge at Bosworth Field, my feeling is that there are certainly less attractive places to draw one’s last breath. On this frigid December afternoon, I’m looking out at a mist-shrouded hinterland of crisscrossing fields as a milky orange sun sinks behind a distant smudge of cloud. Somewhere out there on that bleak horizon in August 1485, King Richard III died a violent death, made all the more visceral by the gaudy array of spiked weapons hanging on a wall inside the nearby Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024.
When a traveler experiences a truly captivating beach getaway at a hotel or resort, it often compels them to return.
Fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be happy to know they can experience the wild and wonderful world of Willy Wonka during their next trip to Britain. The newly released film Wonka is based on the 1964 novel written by British author Roald Dahl, and it tells the tale of Willy Wonka’s early days as an eccentric chocolatier, counting several notable British sights as backdrops. From actual film shooting locations to chocolate-centric attractions, you will find a wonderful Wonka-esque experience waiting for you at any of the following places in Britain.
Finding the best walking shoes for travel can be tough. You want something comfortable enough to get you through a full day of wandering around, but not so comfortable that it screams “I'm a tourist!” And since nobody wants to tote around a bag (checked or otherwise) filled with shoes, the ones that do make the packing list cut need to be versatile enough to wear with multiple outfits.
Park Güell, a public park system in the district of Gracia, Barcelona, is spread over 17 hectares of hilly land and welcomes approximately nine million visitors annually. Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí as a residential estate, the failed housing project became a municipal park in 1926 and a World Heritage site in 1984. Within the park, every path you tread, bench you rest on, and vista you admire are a testament to Gaudí’s architectural brilliance. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or not, Park Güell deserves a spot on your travel itinerary of Barcelona. Because of its popularity, the attraction can be extremely busy, especially in the summer months. On all days of the week, between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, you’ll be jostling for a view. One way around this is to stay close by in a Park Güell Airbnb and visit first thing in the morning or at sunset. The vacation rentals below are in or around the Gracia area and have rave reviews, outdoor spaces, and beautiful decor to complement the experience of visiting one of the world’s most colorful parks.
In the dynamic world of air travel, sustainable growth and adapting to shifting demographics stand as both opportunities and challenges.
As we prepare to return to Dubai for Skift Global Forum East on December 12-14, we’re revisiting a few of the most popular sessions from last year’s event.
It’s been mooted as “the most divisive film of the year”, with keen discussion among cinema-goers before they’ve even emerged from screening rooms. But one thing we can all agree on about Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn is its true star (OK, aside from Rosamund Pike): Saltburn itself.
The season of mittens and hot chocolate is upon us and if you’d rather spend a tranquil afternoon beside a fire than brave the crowds at a big ski resort, these snowy getaways are for you. Picture yourself in a luxury treehouse in the woodlands of Vermont, or a quiet cottage in the Catskills, or a retro motor lodge near Grand Teton National Park. Consider a new boutique hotel in Rhode Island from which you can tour Gilded Age mansions trimmed for the holidays. Or check into a statelynewcomer in Germany and browse Christmas markets in places you thought existed only in fairy tales. From Bavaria to Wyoming, winter wonderlands await.
Johnnie Walker Princes Street has been crowned the World’s Leading Spirit Experience by the World Travel Awards (WTA), further cementing Scotland’s reputation as one of the world’s best food and drink tourism destinations. The global flagship visitor experience for the world’s number one-selling Scotch whisky*, which opened its doors in September 2021, has quickly established itself as one of Scotland’s leading attractions for international and local visitors. It was created as part of Diageo’s £185million investment in Scotch whisky experiences, that was designed to put Scotch and Scotland at the pinnacle of global food and drink tourism.
Hiking in Ireland means magnificent coastal cliffs, rewarding family-friendly walks and a variety of terrain and scenery that'll leave you in awe of the beautiful Emerald Isle.