Steinhatchee, Florida Short-Term Rental Market
Steinhatchee STRs averaged $198/night at 54.9% occupancy in June 2026 across 3,132 active listings.
Quick Answer: Steinhatchee, Florida is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 55%. average monthly revenue is $2,944. average daily rate is $198. the top operator is Evolve with 119 listings. market score is 62/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the Florida North Area regional market, which includes Steinhatchee. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Steinhatchee.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Steinhatchee, Florida had 3,132 active short-term rental listings as of the latest snapshot, split between Airbnb (1,508), Vrbo (361), and 1,263 properties listed on both platforms. The market posted a $198.46 average daily rate (ADR) and 54.90% occupancy in June 2026, generating average monthly revenue of $2,944 per listing. Occupancy rose 0.65% year over year, ADR fell 1.89%, and average revenue climbed 3.74% over the trailing year.
Entire-place listings account for 2,910 of the total (92.9%), with 222 private-room listings and no shared-room listings recorded. By bedroom count, 1-bedroom units are the largest category at 1,035 listings, followed by 3-bedroom (890), 2-bedroom (856), 4-bedroom (240), and 5-bedroom (92).
Steinhatchee is a small Gulf Coast fishing village in Florida’s rural Big Bend region, with a population of just 1,049, drawing outdoor-recreation visitors rather than mass tourism. The dominant draw is seasonal bay scalloping, roughly late June through September, when thousands of families arrive to harvest scallops in shallow seagrass flats, alongside year-round inshore and offshore fishing for redfish, trout, grouper, snapper, and tarpon. There is no local visitors bureau publishing hard visitor counts; lodging is dominated by vacation rentals, fish camps, and small resorts and marinas rather than hotel chains.
Booking data shows a 46.68-day average lead time and a 3.96-night average length of stay, consistent with short scalloping and fishing trips rather than extended vacations. StaySTRA’s overall market score for Steinhatchee is 62.28, with seasonality the strongest sub-component at 84.96 and revenue growth the weakest at 51.36.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43% | $125 | $1,573 |
| Feb | 54% | $133 | $1,701 |
| Mar | 57% | $145 | $2,248 |
| Apr | 49% | $144 | $1,946 |
| May | 50% | $152 | $1,998 |
| Jun | 58% | $179 | $2,705 |
| Jul | 62% | $181 | $3,077 |
| Aug | 46% | $161 | $2,119 |
| Sep | 42% | $141 | $1,620 |
| Oct | 46% | $136 | $1,717 |
| Nov | 47% | $138 | $1,713 |
| Dec | 44% | $134 | $1,710 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Steinhatchee
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 119 | 4,656 | ★ 4.76 |
| 2 | Steinhatchee River Rentals | 32 | 844 | ★ 4.86 |
| 3 | The American Dream Vacation Rentals | 22 | 217 | ★ 4.84 |
| 4 | Vacasa | 22 | 570 | ★ 4.82 |
| 5 | Bird Rack Realty | 19 | 339 | ★ 4.73 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Steinhatchee?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 1,035 |
| 2 bed | 856 |
| 3 bed | 890 |
| 4 bed | 240 |
| 5 bed | 92 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $204 |
| Luxury | $333 |
| Professionally Managed | $280 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,984 |
| Entire Place | $3,041 |
| House | $3,245 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 48.1% |
| vrbo | 11.5% |
| both | 40.3% |
Investment Analysis
Steinhatchee’s ADR tiers span a wide range relative to a modest market-wide average: the $198.46 baseline sits below the entire-home tier at $203.56, professionally managed listings at $280.42, and the luxury tier at $333.08, a $134.62 gap and roughly 67.8% premium over the market average.
On the acquisition side, the typical home value in Steinhatchee is $261,249, with a median list price of $425,667 and 71 homes currently for sale. Annualizing the average monthly revenue of $2,944 produces roughly $35,326 in gross annual revenue per listing, a gross yield of about 13.5% against the typical home value, before accounting for mortgage, management fees, taxes, insurance, and operating costs.
Revenue by property type is unusually compressed here: apartments average $2,984 per month, close to entire-place listings overall at $3,041 and below houses at $3,245, a roughly 8.7% spread between apartment and house revenue, likely reflecting the small overall listing sample in a market this size.
The trailing-year trend is positive: ADR fell 1.89% but average revenue still climbed 3.74% year over year, implying occupancy or booking-mix improvements more than offset the softer rate. StaySTRA’s revenue-growth score of 51.36 sits below the midpoint of the six tracked components despite this positive trailing-year figure.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Steinhatchee guests book an average of 46.68 days in advance, giving operators roughly six and a half weeks of runway to adjust pricing ahead of arrival, particularly important given the concentrated scalloping-season demand spike each summer.
Average length of stay is 3.96 nights, a shorter stay consistent with weekend and short scalloping or fishing trips rather than week-long vacations. This shorter stay length means higher turnover between guests, and operators should weigh cleaning and turnover costs accordingly when setting minimum-stay policies, which likely work best in the 2 to 3-night range here rather than longer minimums that would restrict bookable inventory.
Given the moderate lead time and short stays, operators should prioritize calendar flexibility and be ready to adjust pricing quickly as scalloping-season bookings fill in, rather than relying on far-in-advance planning.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are legal and common in Steinhatchee; the local lodging market is dominated by vacation rentals. A permit is required at the state and county level: operators need a Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license (roughly $220 for the first year, about $170 at annual renewal for a single unit), a Florida Department of Revenue Sales Tax Certificate, registration with the Taylor County Tax Collector for a Tourist Development Application, and a county Local Business Tax Receipt.
Steinhatchee is unincorporated Taylor County, governed by the county Land Development Code rather than a city STR ordinance. Under Florida’s state preemption statute (F.S. 509.032(7)(b)), Taylor County cannot ban vacation rentals or limit the frequency or duration of stays unless it had a grandfathered ordinance predating June 1, 2011, so there is no state or county cap on nights per year.
There is no owner-occupancy requirement and no primary-residence requirement. Combined transient tax on stays of six months or less is roughly 11%: Florida’s 6% state sales tax plus the county’s 5% Tourist Development Tax, collected monthly. Practical zoning, HOA covenants, and safety rules still apply and should be verified with Taylor County Planning & Zoning. Enforcement is described as minimal, centered on tax collection and code-enforcement complaints in this small rural county rather than active STR policing, per StaySTRA’s area profile (last updated July 13, 2026).
Market Comparison
Steinhatchee’s 54.90% occupancy sits almost exactly at the roughly 55% national STR median, while its $198.46 ADR runs about 9.8% below the national median of approximately $220. This pairing, near-median demand with a modest rate discount, is consistent with Steinhatchee’s positioning as a niche, rural fishing and scalloping destination rather than a premium coastal market.
The market’s top property managers are modest in scale. Evolve leads with 119 listings and 4,656 reviews (4.758 rating), followed by Steinhatchee River Rentals (32 listings, 844 reviews, 4.861 rating, the highest-rated of the top five), The American Dream Vacation Rentals (22 listings, 217 reviews, 4.836 rating), Vacasa (22 listings, 570 reviews, 4.817 rating), and Bird Rack Realty (19 listings, 339 reviews, 4.733 rating). Together these five operators manage 214 listings, about 6.8% of the market’s 3,132 total active listings, indicating supply here is overwhelmingly independent hosts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Steinhatchee, Florida
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