JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Jacksonville Beach may be known for its laid-back charm and tourist appeal, but longtime residents say that charm is fading fast, thanks to the growing number of short-term rental properties popping up in residential neighborhoods.
“The last time I clocked it, it was around 600 rentals, 600 short-term rental properties, 600 opportunities that were taken from other first-time home buyers to get into the market,” said Ashley Kelm, a Jacksonville Beach homeowner who lives next to an Airbnb.
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As part of News4JAX’s Addressing A4dability series, we’re taking a closer look at how short-term rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, are reshaping housing markets, neighborhoods, and the ability for locals to afford a place to live.
“You can drive down our street and you know exactly where the short-term rentals are,” Kelm said.
She’s lived in the beach community for over a decade and says the difference today is striking. Longtime neighbors have moved out, replaced by a revolving door of vacationers.
“We’ve had crime, we’ve had gang-related activities literally next door to me,” Kelm said. “We had rap videos being filmed on Saturday morning.”
But beyond the disruption, she says the rise in short-term rentals is having a deeper impact, one that’s hitting the housing market hard. Kelm says her own home has tripled in value since she purchased it just four years ago, and that rapid inflation is pricing out local families.
“As a homeowner, like, ‘Yay, that’s exciting!’ But as a person and as somebody who wants to see families be able to thrive in this area, it’s discouraging,” she said. “For my friends that haven’t purchased a home and they’re coming into the market, or for families that are trying to do that, they’re priced out. They can’t afford it.”
According to AirDNA, Jacksonville Beach currently has 1,400 active short-term rental listings. That’s nearly five times the number of properties currently for sale in the city (287).
Kelm said she’d much rather see a family move in next door.
Research backs up her concern.
A recent Harvard Politics analysis found a direct correlation between the number of Airbnb listings in a city and higher rent prices.
“It’s sad to see the amount of units that are used for short-term rentals when there is such a demand for units to live in,” said Cicely Hodges, a housing and community development policy analyst at the Florida Policy Institute.
Florida cities like Jacksonville Beach have limited power to regulate short-term rentals. State law prohibits municipalities from creating new restrictions unless they had local rules on the books before 2011. That means places like St. Petersburg and Neptune Beach can still regulate short-term rentals, but Jacksonville Beach can’t.
Hodges says the lack of regulation is fueling the affordability crisis.
“An increase in short-term rentals depletes the actual affordable housing supply, which then raises the rates that landlords can charge for that housing,” she said.
Kelm believes state lawmakers must act and give cities more control.
“[Regulation] would discourage the corporations from entering into the housing market, because they wouldn’t have this easy avenue of short-term rentals. But it also would increase the values and the experience within our neighborhoods in Jacksonville Beach,” Kelm said. “It scares me a lot for future generations. This has a bigger effect than what I think people realize.”
As more residents speak out, advocates are urging state leaders to hand control of short-term rental regulations back to local governments. Until then, residents in coastal communities like Jacksonville Beach say they’ll continue to face a difficult reality: more tourists and fewer neighbors.
