Jamaica’s short-term rental and booming Airbnb markets

Jamaica’s short-term rental and Airbnb markets are booming, real estate agents say.

Moreover, demand shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Resort towns account for a large percentage of demand for short-term rentals, while Kingston’s high-rise apartments receive many requests from Airbnb.

Anyone driving in Kington over the past few years would have noticed the construction of several apartment complexes. Due to the high cost of land, people have to build vertically, as evidenced by the landscape of the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA).

“They’re actually a perfect Airbnb product, so there’s high demand,” said Anya Kerr-Jarrett of RE/MAX Elite. Loop Newsa point also echoed by Deborah Cumming of Century21 and Kaili McDonnough Scott of Coldwell Banker.

Coldwell Banker has seen an increase in demand for transient rentals lately, especially “since the pandemic,” McDonnough Scott said.

The rise in demand for Airbnb rentals has raised some concerns, however, with Kerr-Jarrett stressing the need for proper regulation by developments.

“It can only be regulated according to the complex you enter. Each resort has its own set of rules,” she said.

“Some of them have the rules in the statutes. Without the rules, it’s a recipe for disaster, and I’ve experienced this with many new resorts who, from the start, didn’t etch it into their strata laws. It can be a nuisance to other landlords who are not tenants,” she said.

The lack of regulation has created concerns for the rental type amid high demand, Cumming said, as the frequent comings and goings of transient tenants have deterred some people from buying at resorts.

“A lot of resorts don’t want Airbnb and people don’t want to buy from resorts that allow Airbnb,” Cumming said.

“There are too many people passing through. They don’t know who’s coming and going, so anyone who wants to get into this business needs to be sure that the property they’re buying allows it,” she said.

However, “there is a demand, and the demand is all over the island. It’s something worth considering as an investment,” Cumming said.

Talk to Loop News On current market conditions in the real estate industry, McDonnough Scott also pointed out that the local real estate market has been in a seller’s market now “for some time.”

“The market is still quite hot. If there’s a hot property and it’s priced right, it will sell,” McDonnough Scott said.

By Tameka Gordon

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