The number of active Airbnb listings in New York City is starting to rebound following the city’s crackdown on illegal listings. Still, the number of active listings—defined as those available for one day or more—fall short of where they were in January, before the city began imposing steep fines on hosts who are advertising apartments for stays of less than 30 days rather than whole houses or an available room, according to the law.
In July, there were 30,215 active listings in the city, a nearly five percent increase in listings from February. There’s still a ways to go before that number hits its January 2017 peak of about 35,000 active listings throughout the five boroughs.
The crackdown on the room share site has had a particular affect on outer-borough neighborhoods, finds a study conducted by watchdog group InsideAirbnb and cited by Crain’s. Listings are up by more than five percent in neighborhoods like Bushwick, Harlem, and Bed-Stuy, where rising rents are already a concern. Sunset Park saw its number of active listing increase by nearly 30 percent, or 28 rentals, between June of 2016 and 2017. Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, for the most part, have seen a precipitous decrease in active listings.
Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, whose district includes parts of Midtown and the Upper West Side, thinks that the swell in outer-borough listings is having a negative impact on the city. “It makes Airbnb’s activity even worse, because it’s hastening gentrification in deeper parts of the boroughs,” she said, quoted by The Real Deal.
Meanwhile, Airbnb maintains that the ability to rent rooms is an aid to hosts who need to make ends meet. “We are not surprised more and more hardworking New Yorkers are looking to home sharing as a way to earn extra money in an increasingly expensive city,” a spokesperson for Airbnb said.
- New York is in a stalemate with Airbnb [Crain’s via TRD]
- All Airbnb coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...