Rabbu's STR Investor Demand Index (STRIDI) tracks where short-term rental investors are actively looking to buy. In August, they searched hardest in Kissimmee, Scottsdale, and Sevierville.
The month's real story sits away from the top of that list. The highest-yielding markets in our data are no longer only coastal. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Chicago each cleared a 15% median gross yield in August, and investor attention in all three climbed while attention in the large beach markets fell hard.
Myrtle Beach is the clearest example of that reversal. It was July's standout, holding the highest yield in the country while climbing to third for demand. In August, its yield held at 16.8%, still the best of any major market, but demand fell 43%, and it dropped to fifteenth. San Diego fell 44% and Kissimmee 35%. Attention left the coast in August; it did not follow the yields.
The most in-demand STR markets right now
The most in-demand short-term rental markets in August 2026 were Kissimmee, Scottsdale, and Sevierville, ranked from real buyer search and inquiry activity on Rabbu. Kissimmee led every U.S. market for investor interest, scoring 100 on the STR Investor Demand Index, the anonymized 0 to 100 scale that tracks where investors are actively looking to buy.
| Rank | Market | Demand Index | Median gross yield | Change vs. July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kissimmee, FL | 100 | 11.9% | −35% |
| 2 | Scottsdale, AZ | 97 | 10.5% | +40% |
| 3 | Sevierville, TN | 97 | 10.3% | 0% |
| 4 | Gatlinburg, TN | 80 | 10.9% | −4% |
| 5 | Orlando, FL | 78 | 14.1% | −20% |
| 6 | Nashville, TN | 73 | 8.7% | +14% |
| 7 | Charlotte, NC | 71 | 8.9% | +96% |
| 8 | Houston, TX | 70 | 11.2% | +8% |
| 9 | Destin, FL | 70 | 13.2% | −16% |
| 10 | Austin, TX | 64 | 9.3% | +66% |
| 11 | San Diego, CA | 61 | 8.1% | −44% |
| 12 | Davenport, FL | 60 | 11.9% | +5% |
| 13 | Miami, FL | 60 | 9.5% | −13% |
| 14 | Tampa, FL | 58 | 11.6% | +13% |
| 15 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 57 | 16.8% | −43% |
Kissimmee has now held the top spot in all three months we have published, though its lead has narrowed sharply. Scottsdale and Sevierville both finished within three points of it, the tightest top of the table we have recorded.
Scottsdale is the most notable riser inside the top ten, up 40% and moving from eighth to second. It pays 10.5%, which is modest for the attention it now draws.
The most underrated markets
Cleveland was the most underrated short-term rental market in August 2026, delivering a 15.3% median gross yield while scoring just 26 on the STR Investor Demand Index. Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Largo show the same shape, each above 14.5% yield against demand scores below 40.
| Market | Median gross yield | Demand Index |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland, OH | 15.3% | 26 |
| Chicago, IL | 15.2% | 36 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 15.0% | 23 |
| Largo, FL | 14.8% | 27 |
| East Stroudsburg, PA | 13.7% | 25 |
Three of the top four are inland Midwest and Rust Belt cities, which is new. Chicago has appeared on this list in all three editions and its yield has not moved, holding between 15.2% and 15.4% since June while investor attention has climbed steadily from 16 to 36.
Daytona Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Honolulu all continued to yield above 13.5% while ranking below 23 on the demand index, outside the fifty markets drawing the most attention.
The markets are heating up fastest
Investor interest climbed fastest in Indianapolis in August 2026, where demand rose 136% against July, the sharpest increase of any established market we track. Charlotte and Lake Harmony each roughly doubled, and Cleveland rose 82%. Momentum measures the change in search and inquiry activity month over month.
| Market | Change vs. July | Demand Index | Median gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis, IN | +136% | 53 | 11.9% |
| Charlotte, NC | +96% | 71 | 8.9% |
| Lake Harmony, PA | +96% | 28 | 10.3% |
| Cleveland, OH | +82% | 26 | 15.3% |
| Austin, TX | +66% | 64 | 9.3% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | +63% | 23 | 15.0% |
| Chicago, IL | +45% | 36 | 15.2% |
| Scottsdale, AZ | +40% | 97 | 10.5% |
Starting this month, a market must have drawn a meaningful base of activity in the prior month to appear on the momentum list. Without that floor, the ranking is dominated by very small markets where a handful of additional searches produces a large percentage swing.
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Indianapolis all appearing together is the single clearest pattern in August. Four inland markets rising at once, three of them yielding above 11.9%, is a different signal from one market moving alone.
The markets that are tougher to pencil
Scottsdale drew the second-highest investor interest of any U.S. market in August 2026 while posting a median gross yield of 10.5%. Nashville, Charlotte, San Diego, and Austin sit further into the same territory, with heavy buyer attention against yields below 9.5%.
| Market | Demand Index | Median gross yield |
|---|---|---|
| Scottsdale, AZ | 97 | 10.5% |
| Nashville, TN | 73 | 8.7% |
| Charlotte, NC | 71 | 8.9% |
| Austin, TX | 64 | 9.3% |
| San Diego, CA | 61 | 8.1% |
| Miami, FL | 60 | 9.5% |
Charlotte and Austin are the ones to watch here, because both roughly doubled in attention this month while sitting below 9.5%. Rising interest in a low-yield market is the pattern that tends to precede investors underwriting on something other than rental revenue.
This is not a list of markets to avoid. It is a list of markets where the purchase price has moved further than the revenue has, so the underwriting has to be tighter, and the margin for error is thinner.
Why demand and yield pull apart
Across the markets we track, investor attention and gross yield generally run in opposite directions. The markets investors search hardest tend to be large, well-known metros where property prices reflect far more than short-term rental revenue potential. Employment, land constraint, and owner-occupier demand all push prices up in San Diego and Nashville in ways that have nothing to do with what a property earns on Airbnb.
The highest-yielding markets tend to be places where prices track rental revenue more closely, either because the market is purpose-built for vacation rental or because the underlying housing is inexpensive relative to what it can earn. Myrtle Beach is the first case. Cleveland and Pittsburgh are the second, and August is the first month they have surfaced this strongly.
What August also shows is that the relationship is noisier month to month than a single edition suggests. Myrtle Beach rose 31% in July on the back of the best yield in the country, then gave all of it back in August with the yield unchanged. Investor attention is not tracking yield in any reliable way yet. Whether the inland rotation persists into September is the question this index exists to answer, and we will report it either way.
Methodology
The STR Investor Demand Index measures investor demand, meaning where people are looking to buy short-term rentals. It does not measure guest booking demand.
The index is built from two signals on Rabbu: market searches by logged-in users, and buyer inquiry submissions, weighted at one and three, respectively. Scores are indexed so the highest-demand market equals 100 and every other market scales relative to it. Underlying counts are not published.
Median gross yield is calculated separately and never blended into the index. It is the median of projected annual gross rental revenue divided by asking price across for-sale listings in each market that carry an existing or potential short-term rental signal. These are projections, not verified booking actuals.
Markets qualify for ranking only if they clear a minimum of 25 for-sale listings and 5 interest events in the period. The momentum ranking additionally requires a minimum base of prior-month activity. August 2026 figures cover August 1 through August 31, compared against July 1 through July 31.
Full details, including data sources, exclusions, and known limitations, are on the STR Investor Demand Index methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the STR Investor Demand Index?
The STR Investor Demand Index is a monthly ranking of U.S. short-term rental markets by investor demand, published free by Rabbu. It scores markets from 0 to 100 based on real buyer search and inquiry activity, and publishes each market's median gross yield alongside it.
Which STR market had the highest investor demand in August 2026?
Kissimmee, Florida, had the highest investor demand in August 2026, scoring 100 on the STR Investor Demand Index. Scottsdale ranked second at 97 and Sevierville third at 97.
Which STR market had the highest yield in August 2026?
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, had the highest median gross yield of any major short-term rental market in August 2026 at 16.8%. Cleveland followed at 15.3% and Chicago at 15.2%.
Does a high demand score mean a market is a good investment?
No. Demand measures where investors are looking, not where returns are strongest. In August 2026, the market with the highest yield, Myrtle Beach at 16.8%, ranked fifteenth for investor attention and fell 43% month over month.
How often is the index updated?
Monthly. Each edition reports the prior calendar month and compares it against the month before.
Can I cite this data?
Yes. The STR Investor Demand Index is free to cite and reference with attribution to Rabbu and a link to this page.
Find properties in these markets
Every market in this report has a live inventory page on Rabbu with projected revenue, gross yield, and comparable performance data on each listing. Start with the highest-yielding markets in August: Myrtle Beach, Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Largo.
See where your target market ranks in Rabbu's market data, or browse Airbnbs for sale in the markets showing the strongest returns.
