For many years, spring training has been favoring the Phoenix’s short-term rental market significantly. As per a report, about 26,000 homes, apartments, condominiums, RVs and bedrooms in the Valley are on Airbnb. But, as of now, only around 100 places are available for the almost five-week baseball season starting on Feb. 21. And prices are inflating like anything.
A studio apartment in downtown Phoenix can go as high as $5,500 during spring training. The asking rent price for a 1,000-square-foot condo in northwest Phoenix is $7,100 for the early baseball season.
Both made a two-bedroom condo in west Phoenix renting for $3,500 for the five weeks look like a bargain.
The average mortgage on a $250,000 Valley home is only about $1,500.
“Everyone and their brother is trying to rent out their properties in the Valley now,” said Stanley Paul Cook who lives in San Diego and rents out his historic Willo home on Airbnb and other sites.
He said his rental house is booked for the next few months.
March Surge-
The 15 Major League Baseball teams which will house in metro Phoenix during the next several weeks draw a lot of fans.
As per last year statistics, around 2 million tickets were sold.
Landlords are aware that they can charge as high as they want owing to the increased demand.
According to the popular online rental sites, the average daily rent for an Airbnb in metro Phoenix spikes to $164 in March. And it is the highest rate all year, and about $32 more than the overall average annual rent for the area.
During last year’s March, about 87 percent of the Valley’s Airbnb’s rentals were full.
The overall average 2018 occupancy rate for the rental website in the Phoenix area was 55 percent.
Boys of Summer-
Many baseball players also will stay on rent in metro Phoenix homes, but they are not going to book the houses through Airbnb.
Posh homes around the ballparks and in luxury Valley neighborhoods including Kierland and Grayhawk are booked by players through real estate agents long before spring training begins.
Some players own their own valley homes as well.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier used to have a mansion in Gilbert while he trained here. He sold the 9,200-square-foot home for $4.9 million in 2017 as he retired from baseball last year.
Two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Tim Lincecum bought a Paradise Valley mansion in 2012 that he called home while training with the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale. He also had sold it a few years ago.
Hotel-
There should not be any doubt that Valley hotels also draw more customers and raise prices during March when the average temperature is about 77 degrees.
However, the hotel industry has not been happy to compete with short-term rentals. Other cities including New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have put restrictions on Airbnb and other short-term rentals.
But, in Arizona, a 2017 law did the exact opposite. The law limits Arizona cities and counties from putting restrictions on short-term rentals unless the home is an HOA or a community with deed restrictions.
It should be noted here that the short term rentals have grown in popularity, partly because they are considered more affordable.
But, the case becomes different during spring training for last-minute renters, mainly when just “a sofa” in a Glendale apartment is going for more than $1,000 a month now.
So, if you have not booked your destination to enjoy the game, you should better hurry up; otherwise, the already inflated rents may inflate further in order to get out of your pocket.
