Millville, Delaware Short-Term Rental Market
Millville, DE STRs averaged $269/night in April 2026; July peaks at $6,743 monthly revenue in this Delaware Quiet Resorts corridor.
Quick Answer: Millville, Delaware is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 35%. average monthly revenue is $2,078. average daily rate is $269. the top operator is Vacasa with 2,692 listings. market score is 49/100 (grade D).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Millville is a small incorporated town of approximately 2,430 year-round residents in southeastern Sussex County, Delaware, located about 4 miles west of Bethany Beach within the Delaware ‘Quiet Resorts’ corridor. The corridor is marketed by the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce and encompasses Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, and Ocean View. Visitors come primarily from the Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Northern Virginia metros, drawn by Atlantic beach access, tax-free shopping, bay and state park recreation, and golf. Large master-planned communities such as Millville by the Sea have expanded the area’s vacation-rental and second-home inventory significantly.
In April 2026, a spring shoulder month for this beach market, the STR market posted an average daily rate of $269 and an occupancy rate of 35.2%, with RevPAR of $95. The historical seasonal average for April is 38.9% occupancy, and April is among the six lowest-occupancy months of the year in this market. Year-over-year through April 2026, occupancy declined 12.2 percentage points, ADR increased 9.0%, and revenue declined 9.0%. Full-year 2025 performance provides more useful context: the 2025 annual average monthly revenue of $3,827 is the highest on record for this market, continuing growth from $3,634 in 2023 and $3,712 in 2024.
The listing mix is approximately 99% entire-place rentals, reflecting the vacation-ownership character of the market. The bedroom mix skews toward larger properties suited for group beach vacations: two-bedroom units lead, followed by three-bedroom, one-bedroom, and four-bedroom properties.
VRBO is the dominant channel in this market. A majority of properties cross-list on both Airbnb and VRBO, with VRBO-only listings also a substantial share. This contrasts with most other markets in this dataset where Airbnb leads.
The Apivex composite score is 48.7. Revenue growth leads all dimensions at 91.3, reflecting the strong multi-year revenue trend. Regulation scores 67.1, investability 69.6, rental demand 47.4, and seasonality 42.6. The low composite and seasonality scores reflect the extreme summer concentration, where July and August alone generate more than $13,000 in combined monthly revenue.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25% | $272 | $2,024 |
| Feb | 35% | $256 | $2,004 |
| Mar | 39% | $250 | $2,029 |
| Apr | 39% | $262 | $2,327 |
| May | 47% | $304 | $2,760 |
| Jun | 70% | $349 | $5,323 |
| Jul | 79% | $345 | $6,743 |
| Aug | 78% | $342 | $6,720 |
| Sep | 45% | $282 | $3,332 |
| Oct | 26% | $249 | $2,037 |
| Nov | 25% | $256 | $1,897 |
| Dec | 31% | $277 | $2,107 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Millville
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 2,692 | 62,701 | ★ 4.37 |
| 2 | Coastal Resort Rentals | 357 | 1,649 | ★ 4.39 |
| 3 | Shoreline Properties | 349 | 1,835 | ★ 4.28 |
| 4 | Central Reservations | 328 | 4,812 | ★ 4.53 |
| 5 | VacayHome Connect | 314 | 594 | ★ 4.07 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Millville?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 2,191 |
| 2 bed | 4,856 |
| 3 bed | 4,479 |
| 4 bed | 2,271 |
| 5 bed | 1,661 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $271 |
| Luxury | $391 |
| Professionally Managed | $287 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $1,777 |
| Entire Place | $2,091 |
| House | $2,677 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 17.3% |
| vrbo | 27.3% |
| both | 55.4% |
Investment Analysis
No Zillow housing snapshot is available for Millville in the current dataset. The area’s vacation real estate encompasses condominium units in master-planned communities and single-family beach homes, with pricing driven by proximity to Bethany Beach and Atlantic Ocean access. Investors should consult Sussex County brokers for current pricing and a direct gross yield calculation.
ADR in April 2026 was $269 at the market average and $271 for entire-home listings, reflecting the near-100% entire-place composition. Professionally managed properties averaged $287/night, approximately 7% above the market average, a premium of $18/night. Luxury-tier listings averaged $391/night, approximately 45% above the market average.
Average monthly revenue was $2,078 in April 2026. The 2025 full-year average monthly revenue of $3,827 is the more representative figure for investment modeling. Annualized, this projects to approximately $45,924 in annual gross revenue. Summer months drive the majority: July at $6,743 and August at $6,720 together represent approximately $13,463 in revenue over two months.
By property type, house listings average $2,677/month and entire-place listings average $2,091/month in April 2026, a house premium of $586/month. Apartment-category listings average $1,777/month, approximately $301 below the all-market average.
Revenue growth of 91.3 (score) confirms the strong upward trajectory since 2020, driven by consistent ADR gains from $299 in 2020 to $318 in 2025, even as occupancy moderated from the 52.8% annual high in 2021 to 44.2% in 2025. The revenue growth score of 91.3 is the highest in this batch of 10 markets.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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The average booking lead time for Millville STRs is 52.4 days, approximately 7.5 weeks before arrival. This is the longest lead time in this batch and reflects the advance planning of beach-bound travelers who book Delaware shore properties well ahead of their summer stays. Peak-season slots are typically claimed before Memorial Day weekend.
Average length of stay is 3.4 nights. Despite the long booking lead time, guests are taking short stays rather than week-long rentals, suggesting a mix of weekend trips from the nearby DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia metros and occasional week-long beach stays that compress the average. The pattern is common in high-demand coastal markets where travelers book early even for short windows because availability in prime weeks is limited.
Operators should set summer pricing and minimum stay requirements early in the spring season, no later than February or March for June through August dates. A 5 to 7-night minimum for peak summer weeks is standard practice in the Bethany Beach corridor and captures maximum ADR from the demand premium. Off-season minimum stays can be reduced to 2 nights. The 52.4-day lead time provides strong forward booking visibility but concentrates nearly all summer revenue within a 3 to 4 month window.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Millville requires a Town Residential Rental License for each rental unit before any property is listed for short-term rental. The license costs $50 per unit and runs on the town’s fiscal year (May 1 through April 30), renewing annually. Renewal invoices are mailed around May 1 and are due by June 1. Applications received after November 1 are prorated to $25, and after March 31 to $12.50, with a $25 late fee.
Operators owe Millville’s local gross rental receipts tax of 2% of rent, remitted twice yearly on June 1 and November 1. Delaware’s statewide short-term rental lodging tax of 4.5% (effective January 1, 2025) applies to stays of 31 nights or fewer, bringing the combined effective lodging tax to approximately 6.5%. Platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO typically collect and remit the state-level tax; operators should confirm local tax handling directly.
Sussex County enacted a separate 3% short-term rental tax in 2024, but this applies only to unincorporated areas. Properties within the incorporated Town of Millville are exempt from the county tax. Investors should verify city-limit status of any property before assuming the county tax does not apply.
There is no owner-occupancy requirement, no primary-residence requirement, and no annual night cap. Occupancy is limited to two persons per bedroom plus two additional persons. Parking is restricted to one vehicle per bedroom, with off-street parking required first. Property owners are responsible for preventing guest noise and disorderly conduct.
Enforcement is moderate. Operators who collect payments outside a marketplace platform must also obtain a $25 Delaware accommodations-intermediary business license to collect and remit the state lodging tax.
Market Comparison
The US median annual STR occupancy is approximately 55%. Millville’s 2025 annual average occupancy of 44.2% is below the national median, driven by the deep winter trough (January and November at 25 to 35%). During peak summer months, occupancy reaches 78 to 79%, well above the national median. April’s 35.2% occupancy reflects the spring shoulder period specifically.
ADR of $269 in April 2026 exceeds the national median of approximately $220. Summer peak ADR of $342 to $349 from June through August is significantly above the national median, reflecting premium beach resort pricing in a constrained Delaware shore corridor where buildable land is limited.
Top operators in this market include Vacasa (2,692 listings, 62,701 reviews, 4.37 average rating), which dominates with more than seven times the listing count of the next largest operator. Coastal Resort Rentals (357 listings, 1,649 reviews, 4.39 rating), Shoreline Properties (349 listings, 1,835 reviews, 4.28 rating), and Central Reservations (328 listings, 4,812 reviews, 4.53 rating) are the major regional operators. VacayHome Connect (314 listings, 594 reviews, 4.07 rating) rounds out the top five.
The composite score of 48.7 primarily reflects the low seasonality score (42.6) driven by extreme summer concentration. The revenue growth score of 91.3 and 2025 annual average revenue of $3,827/month are the standout investment metrics, describing a market with strong ADR-driven revenue growth despite a winter-heavy vacancy pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions About Millville, Delaware
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