Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Short-Term Rental Market
Rehoboth Beach, DE area STR market averaged $408.63 a night at 67.9% occupancy in June 2026, led by house-style listings.
Quick Answer: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is 68%. average monthly revenue in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is $6,346. average daily rate in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is $409. the top operator in the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area is Vacasa with 2,346 listings. market score is 49/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Delaware/Maryland Beaches regional market, which includes Rehoboth Beach. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Rehoboth Beach.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Rehoboth Beach, DE is a small oceanfront resort town in Sussex County on Delaware’s Atlantic coast, with just 1,370 year-round residents supporting a visitor base estimated at 7 million people a year across the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach corridor. It is one of the mid-Atlantic’s most established beach destinations, drawing a heavily Washington DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia-area drive market for its mile-long boardwalk, Funland amusement park, tax-free Tanger Outlets shopping, and a reputation as a nationally known LGBTQ-friendly destination. Sussex County tourism generates roughly $1.7 billion in annual GDP, with vacation rentals alone accounting for about $1 billion of visitor spending countywide.
Listing-level bedroom mix and market-score benchmarks are tracked at a shared level across the Rehoboth Beach area, byte-identical to neighboring Lewes in this data set, rather than uniquely for the town itself; this profile omits those figures rather than present shared data as city-specific. All performance figures below describe the Rehoboth Beach, DE area STR market rather than the town in strict isolation.
In the most recent month of data (June 2026), the Rehoboth Beach area STR market posted an average daily rate of $408.63 and average occupancy of 67.94%. Average monthly revenue per listing was $6,346, with standalone houses averaging $7,296 a month, well ahead of entire-place listings at $6,380 and apartment-style listings at $5,845.
Year over year, occupancy dipped 0.4 percentage points, average daily rate fell 2.4%, and revenue slipped 1.3%, a mild pullback in an already mature, high-priced beach market. Longer-run data shows the market’s occupancy peaked at 52.85% in 2021 during the pandemic-era travel surge and has settled into the low-to-mid 40s in the years since, even as average daily rate has climbed from $218 in 2017 to $319 in 2025.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 25% |
| Feb | 35% |
| Mar | 39% |
| Apr | 39% |
| May | 46% |
| Jun | 70% |
| Jul | 79% |
| Aug | 78% |
| Sep | 45% |
| Oct | 26% |
| Nov | 25% |
| Dec | 31% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Rehoboth Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Delaware/Maryland Beaches market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Delaware/Maryland Beaches market as a whole, which includes Rehoboth Beach, so these counts are not Rehoboth Beach-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 2,346 | 60,626 | ★ 4.36 |
| 2 | Coastal Resort Rentals | 355 | 1,646 | ★ 4.39 |
| 3 | Shoreline Properties | 349 | 1,861 | ★ 4.28 |
| 4 | Central Reservations | 328 | 4,890 | ★ 4.53 |
| 5 | VacayHome Connect | 312 | 593 | ★ 4.18 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Rehoboth Beach?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Rehoboth Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 17.3% |
| vrbo | 25.9% |
| both | 56.8% |
Home Value Trends (Rehoboth Beach)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Rehoboth Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Rehoboth Beach — how far ahead guests book and how to price around it — is available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are legal in Rehoboth Beach, and the city treats them as an investor-friendly, permit-based use rather than requiring owner-occupancy. Every rental unit must carry its own annual Residential Rental License, issued by the Building and Licensing Department for $150, and must pass a city inspection against the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code before licensing; most annual renewals are handled through a self-certification checklist rather than a repeat in-person inspection.
Overnight occupancy is capped at two persons per bedroom plus two additional guests (children age six and under are not counted), so a 3-bedroom unit maxes out at 8 guests. Owners must supply a local contact available 24/7 and post the license, contact information, and the city’s Good Neighbor guidelines inside the unit.
On taxes, owners pay a 7% local city rental tax plus Delaware’s newer 4.5% state short-term rental lodging tax, effective for agreements signed on or after January 1, 2025, for a combined roughly 11.5% lodging tax burden, layered on top of the city’s normal 3% hotel lodging tax that applies to traditional hotels instead. The city rental tax is billed via a form mailed each December 1, with payment due February 15; the state tax is remitted monthly. Enforcement includes civil assessments of $250 a day per violation and license revocation for cause. There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement, and no cap on rental nights per year.
Market Comparison
The Rehoboth Beach area’s 67.94% average occupancy in the latest month runs well above the roughly 55% median occupancy typically seen across the broader US short-term rental market, and its $408.63 average daily rate is nearly double the roughly $220 national median, reflecting a premium, established mid-Atlantic beach destination.
Property manager rankings and total listing counts for this market are tracked at a shared level across the Rehoboth Beach area rather than distinctly for the town itself, so this profile omits a market-specific operator breakdown rather than present shared data as city-specific. Investors evaluating a Rehoboth Beach property should request current, address-specific management proposals rather than rely on a regional operator ranking. Delaware’s new statewide 4.5% STR lodging tax, layered onto the city’s existing local tax, is also a distinctive regulatory feature worth weighing against beach markets in states without an equivalent state-level lodging tax on short-term stays.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
What is the average Airbnb occupancy rate in the Rehoboth Beach, DE area?
What is the average daily rate for a short-term rental in the Rehoboth Beach, DE area?
How much revenue can an Airbnb in the Rehoboth Beach, DE area generate per month?
Are short-term rentals legal in Rehoboth Beach, DE?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Rehoboth Beach, DE?
When is the best time to book or list a short-term rental in the Rehoboth Beach, DE area?
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