College football is driving up short-term rental demand

Fans aren’t the only ones going crazy over college football. In Southern college towns across the country, real estate investors are buying and building homes for those who spend thousands of dollars on a weekend of housing to attend a game.

According to new data from AirDNA, which tracks the performance of Airbnb and VRBO rentals, many college towns have seen a sharp uptick in short-term housing supply over the past year, with some growth rates coming in more than 2.5x higher than the national average of 12.8%.

• Tuscaloosa: The Alabama Crimson Tide’s home city saw the supply of short-term rentals increase by 34% since November 2022.
• Athens: The hometown of the Georgia Bulldogs has seen its short-term rental supply increase by 31% over the past year.
• Columbia: The Missouri Tiger-linked city has experienced a 33% increase over the same period.

📝🏘️ Zoom out: Many larger US cities – including Atlanta, Dallas, Honolulu, Memphis, New York City, and Portland – have approved regulations aimed at limiting the total amount of short-term rentals, as well as which properties can be rented out. The moves come amid growing pushback from officials and locals, who say the increasing presence of short-term rentals drives up housing prices for existing residents.