Airbnb Makes Expensive Neighborhoods Even More Expensive

A new study, commissioned by Airbnb and conducted by Thomas Davidoff, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, found that the controversial apartment-sharing website does indeed push up everyone else's rent, as its critics have long claimed. Davidoff found (using Airbnb's own statistics, which have been questioned by critics in the past) that Airbnb increases the price of a New York City one-bedroom by $6 per month, however he stipulated that the price increases were most notable in the more desirable areas, where Airbnb listings are most concentrated. "It's not an affordability issue. It's a luxury neighborhood issue or a bohemian neighborhood issue," he said. It's not entirely clear why the two would be mutually exclusive, though—if people are pushed out a luxury neighborhoods, one would imagine that they would turn to the next tier of neighborhoods, pushing up demand, prices, and so forth.
· Airbnb Pushes Up Apartment Rents Slightly, Study Says [WSJ]
· Airbnb coverage [Curbed]