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More Cape Cod rentals available for this summer
The last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August are the most popular weeks for rentals.
There’s good news right now for Cape Cod vacationers this summer: more rental properties are available than during the same time last year.
WeNeedAVacation.com, which offers more than 4,000 listings on the Cape, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard, and Pretty Picky Properties, which manages 220 properties across 11 Cape Cod towns, say there’s plenty of rentals available in June, July, and August.
There’s currently about 18,000 short-term rentals on the Cape, said Paul Niedzwiecki, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
“There’s anywhere between 5 and 8 percent more availability compared to the same time last year,” he said.
The inventory has also increased by 8 percent over last year, Niedzwiecki said.
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“With the increase in inventory for short term rentals, I think we’re starting to see a lot more competition which is good news for consumers,” he said.
WeNeedAVacation.com shows about 4 to 9% more availability compared with the same time last year, according to Joan Talmadge, co-owner of the site. The site, which averages 1.3 million visitors per year, reports a 19% decrease in vacationer demand this past January versus the same time last year.
“We’re not discouraged by that. I think this is just a reflection of the natural softening of the market in terms of vacationers having more options and perhaps taking more vacations during the course of a year, which they haven’t been doing during the pandemic,” Talmadge said.
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Pretty Picky Properties is about 60% booked, similar to last year at this time, said CEO Black Decker.
“The amount of available properties to rent is still very high,” said Decker. “The main reason, we believe, is most people who have bought homes on the Cape in the past three years or so bought them during the pandemic era and had a vision of using them quite a bit and now that the world has returned to a normal schedule they have these very expensive assets that they aren’t using as much and so they entered the rental pool.”
Decker said his message to property owners this year is to focus on occupancy over rate.
“So not go up and, in some cases, go down,” he said about the price. “We are seeing more price sensitivity from vacationers.”
The most popular weeks of the summer are the last two weeks of July and first two weeks of August, according to the companies.
Talmadge said the first week of August, the most popular summer week, currently has 33% availability on her site.
“Out of 4,000 or so homes, that’s still a nice selection for people,” she said.
Pretty Picky Properties is 75% booked during the first week of August, Decker said.
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Niedzwiecki recommended Cape Cod renters plan trips as early as possible.
“One of the things that I think has changed during the pandemic, and it looks like it’s going to be a permanent change, is people are booking earlier than they have in the past,” he said.
Folks looking for properties on or close to the beach or luxury properties with pools will find there are less options the longer they wait, Decker said.
“But if you are more flexible and don’t mind getting in the car to go to the beach, you’re going to have many more options, you can book later and, in some cases, might be able to get a good deal,” he said.
Travelers will find the most rental options during the last week of June and the last week of August, Talmadge said, which currently has more than 50% and more than 60% percent availability on her site, respectively.
Though 2021 and 2022 were “absolutely banner years” and the market is now starting to normalize, bookings are still up nearly 20% over the very strong pre-pandemic year of 2019, Niedzwiecki said.
“The Cape and Islands are still really a top choice for vacationers. That’s never going to change,” Talmadge said.
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