Some homeowners may be lured to a beachfront home not just for their own enjoyment but to turn the property into a money-making vacation rental.
Vacasa, a vacation rental management firm, ranked vacation rental markets based on aggregate cap rates (the ratio of a property’s net operating income over its cost). Here are the top 10 places that topped Vacasa's list as the best places to buy a beach house in 2019:
1. Ocean Shores, Wash.
- Cap rate: 7.6%
- Median home cost: $239,460
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $32,383
2. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Cap rate: 7.4%
- Median home cost: $249,999
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $32,546
3. Panama City Beach and Santa Rosa, Fla.
- Cap rate: 6.1%
- Median home cost: $419,900
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $44,555
4. Gulf Shores, Ala.
- Cap rate: 5.8%
- Median home cost: $409,900
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $39,045
5. Galveston Island and Port Bolivar, Texas
- Cap rate: 5.6%
- Median home cost: $329,900
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $40,791
6. Kauai, Hawaii
- Cap rate: 5.4%
- Median home cost: $696,028
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $61,117
7. Ocean City, Md.
- Cap rate: 5.4%
- Median home cost: $285,000
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $30,769
8. Key West, Fla.
- Cap rate: 5%
- Median home cost: $788,500
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $67,204
9. Marathon to Long Key, Fla.
- Cap rate: 4.9%
- Median home cost: $619,900
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $57,918
10. Cocoa Beach, Fla.
- Cap rate: 4.7%
- Median home cost: $339,000
- Median annual gross rental revenue: $31,082
Source: “Best Places to Buy a Beach House in 2019,” Vacasa (May 2019)
