I work in commercial real estate, mostly in the apartment industry. I'm about as YIMBY as they come. AirBnBs and short term rentals are terrible for housing cos

I work in commercial real estate, mostly in the apartment industry. I'm about as YIMBY as they come. AirBnBs and short term rentals are terrible for housing costs. STRs incrementally take supply of housing off the market where the owner can received the same or more income by renting at 1/2 or 1/3 the occupancy of a long-term tenant. Some people have mentioned housing was "pre-screwed" or zoning is the issue, but this actually is a big contributing factor to higher costs. With STRs, an investor can pay a significant amount more than a 2nd home investor, whom that 2nd home investor could pay more than a homeowner. STRs can be a great investment for someone, but it comes at the expense of housing costs in the area. I love staying in cool AirBnBs, but it's the reality. Fortunately, AirBnB launched a new product where they revenue-share with apartment landlords where tenants can Airbnb their apartments out. This is a much less distorting to the market, and even can be good for the housing market if the financial community can rely on this extra income. If more buildings can pencil (due to high construction costs) because there's now a 10% increase in revenue from Airbnb apartment STRs, and lenders/investors are comfortable with this, then that's a good thing.