Pisgah Forest, North Carolina Short-Term Rental Market
The Pisgah Forest area STR market earned $251 ADR at 58% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Pisgah Forest, North Carolina is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the North Carolina Mtns market area is 58%. average monthly revenue in the North Carolina Mtns market area is $3,793. average daily rate in the North Carolina Mtns market area is $251. the top operator in the North Carolina Mtns market area is Evolve with 725 listings. market score is 70/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the North Carolina Mtns regional market, which includes Pisgah Forest. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Pisgah Forest.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Pisgah Forest is an unincorporated community in Transylvania County, North Carolina, immediately adjacent to the main entrance of Pisgah National Forest and just outside Brevard. Transylvania County brands itself the Land of Waterfalls, with more than 250 named waterfalls, and Pisgah National Forest draws roughly 2 million visitors a year (a forest-wide figure, not a Pisgah Forest community count). Visitors come for hiking, mountain and road biking, trout fishing, and waterfall-chasing, with seasonality peaking in summer and fall leaf season, plus the Brevard Music Center summer festival as a notable cultural draw.
Short-term rental performance data in this data set is tracked at a submarket level shared across a 15-city western North Carolina mountain cluster, so the figures below describe the wider Pisgah Forest area STR market rather than city-limits-only precision. In June 2026, the most recent month with complete data, the area’s average daily rate across all listings was $250.89 at 58.12% occupancy, generating average monthly revenue of $3,792.88 per listing. Occupancy is up 3.21% year over year, ADR is down 1.50%, and monthly revenue is up 3.14% year over year.
Bedroom mix, listing-type mix, channel mix, and market-score data in this data set are tracked at a shared regional level rather than measured uniquely for Pisgah Forest, so this profile omits those figures rather than present regional numbers as if they were city-specific. Booking data for the area shows an average lead time of 59.54 days and an average length of stay of 4.19 nights.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 32% |
| Feb | 41% |
| Mar | 47% |
| Apr | 47% |
| May | 49% |
| Jun | 61% |
| Jul | 68% |
| Aug | 56% |
| Sep | 49% |
| Oct | 61% |
| Nov | 49% |
| Dec | 46% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Pisgah Forest are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in North Carolina Mtns market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the North Carolina Mtns market as a whole, which includes Pisgah Forest, so these counts are not Pisgah Forest-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 725 | 35,200 | ★ 4.76 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 463 | 17,166 | ★ 4.47 |
| 3 | Yonder | 118 | 3,770 | ★ 4.71 |
| 4 | Rumbling Bald Resort | 112 | 412 | ★ 4.35 |
| 5 | Bryson City Cabin Rentals | 112 | 1,406 | ★ 4.64 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Pisgah Forest?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Pisgah Forest 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 | 27.2% |
| vrbo | 11.8% |
| both | 61% |
Home Value Trends (Pisgah Forest)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Pisgah Forest 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 Pisgah Forest — 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
Pisgah Forest is unincorporated, so short-term rentals are governed by Transylvania County rules and North Carolina state law rather than a city ordinance. Transylvania County has no countywide zoning; only the county-administered Pisgah Forest Community Zoning Ordinance, adopted and updated in 2010, applies locally, and no dedicated short-term-rental or vacation-rental ordinance was found on the county’s land-use ordinance list.
North Carolina’s Vacation Rental Act and related state law sharply limit a local government’s ability to ban whole-house vacation rentals outright. In practice, this means STRs are permitted with no county STR license or permit program, no published cap on nights, and no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement.
The main mandatory obligation is tax. Operators must register with the county and collect and remit the 5.00% Transylvania County occupancy tax, in place since January 1, 2012, when it rose from 4%, on top of North Carolina state and local sales tax on accommodations, filing monthly returns with the county Tax Administration office and Tourism Development Authority.
The biggest practical constraints are not government rules but private ones: many mountain subdivisions and HOAs in the Pisgah Forest and Brevard area have covenants that limit or prohibit short-term rentals. Buyers must check deed restrictions for a specific parcel and confirm its zoning district with the County Planning Department. Enforcement of the government-side rules is rated minimal.
Market Comparison
The Pisgah Forest area’s 58.12% occupancy in June 2026 sits close to the roughly 55% median occupancy typically seen across the broader U.S. short-term rental market, while its $250.89 average daily rate is above the roughly $220 national median ADR. This combination reflects a well-established Blue Ridge mountain destination with two distinct seasonal draws rather than a single concentrated peak.
Top property manager data in this data set is tracked at a shared regional level across a 15-city western North Carolina mountain cluster rather than uniquely for Pisgah Forest, so this profile does not present specific operator names, listing counts, or ratings as Pisgah Forest-specific. Pisgah Forest’s own regulatory environment is a more distinctive local factor: there is no county STR permit requirement, but private HOA and deed covenants in mountain subdivisions commonly restrict short-term rentals, making due diligence on a specific parcel more important than checking government rules alone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pisgah Forest, North Carolina
What is the average Airbnb occupancy rate in the Pisgah Forest area?
What is the average nightly rate for a short-term rental in the Pisgah Forest area?
Do I need a permit to operate a short-term rental in Pisgah Forest, NC?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Pisgah Forest?
Can an HOA block a short-term rental in Pisgah Forest even without a government permit rule?
What is the best time of year to own a short-term rental in the Pisgah Forest area?
What does it cost to buy into the Pisgah Forest short-term rental market?
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