Some Hudson Valley Homeowners Getting Crazy Rich Thanks to Airbnb

If you live in certain areas of the Hudson Valley, your home could be worth a fortune online

We're not talking about selling your house. The real money for many Hudson Valley homeowners may just be in renting it out. According to statistics provided by The Kingston Tenants Union, homeowners in certain areas of the Mid Hudson are allegedly raking in the dough by listing their homes for short-term rentals.

The group claims that houses and apartments in Ulster County are in such high demand on Airbnb that they are generating almost three times as much as any other county in New York State. Statistics provided show that in 2018 Ulster residents booked $24.4 million in listings on Airbnb. That's way ahead of Dutchess County, which came in third at just under $8 million.

The numbers show that the average homeowner in Ulster County can make $2,914 a month on Airbnb, which may actually be more than a monthly mortgage payment. Depending on where you live in the county, the revenue can be even higher. The organization broke out some of the hottest zip codes in the county to show just how much people are making by renting out their 4-person spaces.

Kingston: $2,219/m
Saugerties: $2,258/m
Woodstock: $3,337/m
Stone Ridge: $2,612/m
Ellenville: $1,809/m
Rosendale: $2,313/m
Kerhonkson: $2,839/m
New Paltz: $3,008/m

It's not all good news for Ulster County, however. The Kingston Tenants Union says that these high Airbnb rates may actually be hurting permanent homeowners. Vacationers willing to pay top dollar for a weekend in the area could be squeezing out residents who need a full-time place to live. For example, landlords may not renew a $ 1,200 a month lease, knowing that they can just charge more on Airbnb. Investors could also begin paying hardball with potential homebuyers by paying higher prices for houses that they can turn around and just rent on the website.

The Kingston Tenants Union believes that there should be regulations put on Airbnb to make sure that enough affordable housing is available for residents. The huge increase in vacation rentals has some people concerned that local residents will be priced out of the market. And it looks like things are only going to get worse. In 2018 the Hudson Valley and Catskills area was listed as one of the most successful Airbnb markets with a 100% year-over-year increase in bookings and a 130% increase in searches for rentals in the area.

A petition has been started to create a Tenant Protection Act in Kingston. For more details, you can visit the organization's website.

December 12 at 4pm: The article has been edited to clarify that the statistics quoted did not come from Airbnb, but have been provided by The Kingston Tenants Union

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