It is not surprising to see higher availability for the first week of summer (June 22), when schools are just completing, and at the end of August, when kids are beginning to return to school. Another highly available week this year is the one after July 4th. Many families already have time off around July 4th and will be less likely to start a vacation right after the holiday.

Pricing

Since 2021, homeowners have been aggressive with their pricing at a record-setting level, and with this year’s cooling demand, it was inevitable that prices would reduce on average. However, heading into the new year, we reported that the average price increase was still aggressive at +9% higher than last year! Owners adding their initial pricing since January 1 have been more realistic, with only a 2% increase from 2023 in reaction to the reduced demand.

Not all homeowners increased their prices. In fact, nearly 14% reduced their rates from 2023. During the 2022-2023 years, we saw that only 3-6% reduced their rates from the prior year.

Lastly, at this time of year, owners start to reduce prices to secure bookings. This spring has seen an unusually high reduction of 10% or more for the remaining summer weeks, especially on rentals that had aggressive pricing over the last few years.

Look Ahead

The desire to get back to the Cape & Islands to vacation has been consistent for decades. While there is still plenty of availability, especially at both at the start and end of the summer, the rush will be on for last-minute vacationers to book their vacation home.

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About WeNeedaVacation: Locally owned and operated, WeNeedaVacation has been providing an efficient and inexpensive way of matching vacationers and vacation rental owners since 1997. The website lists nearly 4,000 properties on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket and offers extensive information to the 1.3M vacationers who use the site yearly, including about beaches, events, dining, activities, and shopping. We do not charge vacationers a fee, and they can book directly with the owner or manager. Our amazing staff provides unparalleled guidance to our Cape & Islands vacation rental homeowners. Many of our staff are vacation rental owners themselves, and all work hard to promote this special place. We proudly belong to all 20 local Chambers of Commerce.