Florida Vacation Rental Market Growing Despite Real Estate Slowdown

July 2, 2008 - PRLog -- Everyone knows now that the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US caused the real estate market to suffer and house prices came down 15-20% nationally. However, one man’s curse can be a blessing to another. Thousands of people bought second homes as investments during the real estate boom of 2001-2006. Many of these are almost impossible to sell these days. An increasing trend, especially in tourist areas such as Florida, is that investors are now converting their properties into vacation rentals as alternative accommodations to hotels.

The US market is catching up the ever-so-popular European vacation rentals market and now stands at $80B. The Vacation Rental Management Association announced in March 2008 that the vacation rental industry saw a 17.4% revenue increase in 2007. During the same time, the real estate market saw a drop of almost 15% and hotel prices went up 9%. The prosperity even in times of economic slowdown proves that this market is extremely lucrative and a force to reckon for the foreseeable future.

The Internet is playing a major role in this uncontrollable growth. Vacation rental websites such as Kenny Doucette’s VacationRentalHotSpots.com are making it easy for tourists to locate and rent vacation rentals. Kenny, a veteran in this market, points out – ”In the past, buyers were always in doubt whether rental houses could match the cleanliness and facilities at a hotel. Today, as a result of the Internet, buyers are equipped with much more information and can choose from hundreds of listings. They can read reviews from previous guests and view pictures or virtual tours. These help them make informed decisions”.

Hotels are formal and uptight. Vacation rentals are personal and offer facilities like a extensive kitchen, dining area, and much more room than the typical hotel room, often for a lesser price than the hotel room. The increasing supply of Florida vacation rentals and increased competition is increase the professionalism in this market and a majority of the vacation rentals are now managed by professional property management companies, ensuring a smooth stay.

The Florida market is growing faster than any other location in the US owing to the multitude of tourist-friendly locations such as the Florida Keys, Miami, Orlando, Destin, Naples and Daytona Beach. You can join the thousands that are experiencing the benefits of this new trend by reserving your next vacation rental at sites such as VacationRentalHotSpots.com

# # #

VacationRentalHotSpots.com is the leading provider of Florida vacation rental listings by owner. VacationRentalHotspots.com.http://www.vacationrentalhotspots.com