Aptos, California Short-Term Rental Market
Aptos/Santa Cruz STRs averaged $369/night at 58.8% occupancy in April 2026 with revenue up 4.1% year-over-year.
Quick Answer: Aptos, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 69%. average monthly revenue is $8,244. average daily rate is $455. the top operator is O'Neal Vacation Rentals LLC with 99 listings. market score is 56/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the Santa Cruz regional market, which includes Aptos. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Aptos.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Aptos is a small unincorporated coastal community in Santa Cruz County serving as a quieter alternative to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk for Bay Area visitors. As of the latest snapshot, 2,055 active STR listings operate in the market area. In April 2026, the average daily rate was $368.60 and occupancy reached 58.8%, producing average monthly revenue of $5,759 per listing. RevPAR was $216.81.
Year-over-year, occupancy grew 1.96 percentage points and revenue improved 4.1%, while ADR eased 1.0%. This pattern reflects modest demand growth absorbing the slight rate moderation.
The listing mix is almost entirely entire-place: 1,884 of 2,055 listings (91.7%) are entire-place accommodations, with 170 private rooms and just 1 shared room. Bedroom distribution: 1-bedroom leads at 725 listings, followed by 2-bedroom (635), 3-bedroom (450), 4-bedroom (179), and 5-bedroom (66). Channel split is nearly even between platforms: 929 Airbnb-only, 923 on both platforms, and 203 VRBO-only, which is an unusually balanced dual-platform presence relative to most markets.
Market scores reflect both opportunity and constraint: rental demand scores 77.4/100 and revenue growth scores 78.3/100, while the regulation score of 58.1/100 and total score of 56.3/100 reflect the meaningful permit caps and waitlist conditions that limit supply. Investability scores 55.0/100, driven downward by the high typical home value of $1.36 million and permit non-transferability risk.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41% | $264 | $3,114 |
| Feb | 52% | $276 | $3,361 |
| Mar | 56% | $292 | $4,293 |
| Apr | 60% | $311 | $4,874 |
| May | 58% | $318 | $4,678 |
| Jun | 71% | $375 | $6,649 |
| Jul | 78% | $358 | $7,128 |
| Aug | 69% | $349 | $6,354 |
| Sep | 58% | $318 | $4,744 |
| Oct | 55% | $299 | $4,368 |
| Nov | 52% | $304 | $3,885 |
| Dec | 47% | $303 | $3,766 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Aptos
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O'Neal Vacation Rentals LLC | 99 | 9,671 | ★ 4.83 |
| 2 | Beachnest Vacation Rentals | 55 | 1,469 | ★ 4.77 |
| 3 | Surf City | 54 | 4,104 | ★ 4.82 |
| 4 | Cheshire Rio Realty | 49 | 1,723 | ★ 4.75 |
| 5 | Bailey Properties | 44 | 2,320 | ★ 4.63 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Aptos?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 725 |
| 2 bed | 635 |
| 3 bed | 450 |
| 4 bed | 179 |
| 5 bed | 66 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $475 |
| Luxury | $719 |
| Professionally Managed | $598 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $7,096 |
| Entire Place | $8,630 |
| House | $8,987 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 45.2% |
| vrbo | 9.9% |
| both | 44.9% |
Investment Analysis
The Aptos/Santa Cruz market combines high nightly rates with significant entry barriers. At a typical home value of $1,355,859 (April 2026 Zillow estimate) and average monthly STR revenue of $5,759, a permitted Aptos STR generates approximately $69,111 in annualized gross revenue, implying a gross STR yield of approximately 5.1% on purchase price before expenses.
Tier analysis shows where the premium is earned. Entire-home listings average $381.47/night versus $368.60 for all listings. Professionally managed properties reach $453.47/night, a 23.0% premium over the all-listings ADR. Luxury-tier listings command $611.94/night, reflecting beach-adjacent premium properties.
By property type: houses average $6,260/month and entire-place listings average $5,962/month, both well above the apartment average of $4,842.
The 2025 annual average of 55.06% occupancy at $368 ADR translating to $5,512/month represents a stable earnings baseline. However, the critical investment constraint in Aptos is permit availability. Santa Cruz County’s SALSDA zone caps non-hosted permits at 147 and hosted permits at 45, with an active waitlist for both. Permits are explicitly non-transferable upon property sale: a buyer cannot inherit the seller’s permit. Each new owner must apply fresh to the waitlist. This means investors cannot underwrite STR revenue without first clearing the permit queue, and no guaranteed timeline for approval exists.
Investors should contact Santa Cruz County Planning before any acquisition to verify current waitlist position and anticipated wait times. The median list price of $1,339,333 and 29-day median to pending signal a measured but competitive market.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Aptos STR guests book an average of 44.0 days in advance and stay an average of 3.39 nights per reservation. The 44-day lead window is one of the longer forward horizons in this analysis, consistent with Bay Area residents planning summer beach getaways weeks in advance, particularly for holiday weekends, Fourth of July, and summer vacation windows.
For operators, a 44-day lead time means prime summer weeks should be priced aggressively 6 to 8 weeks out. The Aptos market rewards operators who lock in high rates early rather than waiting for last-minute fills. Dynamic pricing tools should mark up peak summer weekends well in advance and use date-based triggers around Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Memorial Day.
The 3.39-night average stay is below the national median for beachfront markets, reflecting a Bay Area day-tripper culture where visitors typically book long-weekend escapes of 2 to 4 nights rather than full-week vacations. This shorter stay profile increases turnover frequency (roughly every 3 to 4 nights), which adds cleaning costs but also allows more booking windows to capture multiple guest parties per peak week. Minimum-stay settings of 2 to 3 nights on weekdays and 3 nights on weekends match the dominant booking pattern.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Aptos is an unincorporated community governed by Santa Cruz County’s vacation rental ordinance within the Seacliff/Aptos/La Selva Beach Designated Area (SALSDA). Short-term rentals (30 nights or fewer) are permitted but operate under a hard cap.
Two permit types exist: Non-Hosted (whole home, no owner-residency requirement, capped at 147 permits in SALSDA) and Hosted (owner must live on-site at least 6 months per year, may rent up to 3 bedrooms, capped at 45 permits in SALSDA). An active waitlist is in effect for both types as of the profile update date.
Permit fees: new Non-Hosted permits cost $1,807.90 for properties up to 3 bedrooms, or $3,316.45 for 4 or more bedrooms. New Hosted permits cost $660.95. Permit renewal occurs every 5 years: $149.60 for non-hosted renewal, $570.55 for hosted renewal.
Critical constraint: permits are non-transferable upon property sale. A buyer cannot inherit the seller’s permit and must reapply from the start of the waitlist.
Additional rules: density is capped at 20% of residential parcels per block. ADUs, mobile homes, affordable housing units, and apartments are ineligible. Occupancy is limited to 2 overnight guests per bedroom plus 2 additional guests.
The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is 14% of gross rental income (raised from 11% by Measure B, effective January 1, 2023). Platforms collect and remit TOT on behalf of hosts, but hosts must independently register with the County Tax Collector (CruzAware).
August 2025 update: countywide enforcement was strengthened, requiring Airbnb and VRBO to delist unpermitted properties within 10 days of county notice. Tenant protections were added for conversions from long-term to short-term use.
Market Comparison
At 58.8% occupancy, Aptos runs slightly above the US STR median of approximately 55%. Its ADR of $368.60 is 67.5% above the national median of approximately $220, reflecting the premium coastal California pricing commanded by the Santa Cruz County market.
The revenue growth score of 78.3/100 positions Aptos in the upper tier for revenue trajectory. The 2021 to 2025 period shows ADR expansion from $327 to $368, an annual compound rate of approximately 3.0%, alongside occupancy that has normalized from 2021 pandemic-era highs but stabilized above historical norms.
Among operators, O’Neal Vacation Rentals leads with 99 listings and 9,671 reviews at a 4.83 rating, a strong review-to-listing ratio signaling high volume operation relative to market size. Beachnest Vacation Rentals holds 55 listings at a 4.77 rating, and Surf City manages 54 listings with 4,104 reviews at a 4.82 rating. Together, the top three operators account for 208 listings, approximately 10.1% of the 2,055-listing market. Relative to other California markets analyzed, operator concentration in Aptos is higher, which makes sense given the local management expertise required to navigate the complex permit framework.
With only 192 permitted slots in the SALSDA cap (147 non-hosted plus 45 hosted), and an active waitlist, the Aptos market operates with structurally constrained supply, which supports long-term rate resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions About Aptos, California
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What is the typical occupancy rate for short-term rentals in Aptos?
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Can I get a new short-term rental permit in Aptos?
What is the short-term rental tax rate in Aptos?
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Who are the top STR property managers in Aptos and Santa Cruz County?
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