Florida STR Market Benchmarks by Region for Canadian Investors

Why benchmarks matter for the Canadian non-resident investor

This guide concerns a Canadian investor who is sizing a Florida STR purchase, evaluating a property already owned, or pricing a new listing. The reader is not living in the unit full-time and is not a Florida licensed real estate professional. They need a defensible top-line revenue number to plug into an underwriting model that already accounts for higher non-homestead property tax, Canadian and US tax filings, OTA commission, management fees, HOA, insurance, and currency risk.

This is not a guide to buying. It is a guide to reading market data without making the three mistakes Canadian investors make most often:

First, mistaking aggregator data for actuals. AirDNA, AirROI, Rabbu, and Airbtics each estimate market metrics using different scraping methodologies and different definitions of "active listing". Two reputable sources can publish ADR figures 20 to 40% apart for the same city in the same year. The figures in this guide are presented as Typical range when sources diverge, not as a single point estimate.

Second, assuming aggregator averages apply to the specific property. A market-average 50% annual occupancy and a 250 USD ADR can hide a top-quartile listing earning 75% occupancy at 350 USD ADR and a bottom-quartile listing earning 25% occupancy at 150 USD ADR. Property quality, layout, amenity stack, professional photography, review history, and pricing discipline drive a 2x to 3x spread inside a single market.

Third, ignoring the property tax pull-down on net yield. A 60,000 USD gross revenue line on a 700,000 USD South Florida condo is mathematically a 8.6% gross yield. After non-homestead property tax (1.4 to 2.0% of assessed value depending on county and millage rate), HOA (often 700 to 1,500 USD per month for waterfront condos), insurance, OTA commission, management, and cleaning recovery, the net cash yield is typically 1.5 to 4% of purchase price for South Florida condos, materially lower than what the gross figure suggests.

These three filters apply to every benchmark below. The reader takeaway: use benchmark data to triangulate, not to underwrite.

How to read the data in this guide

Sources used: AirDNA market reports, AirROI 2026 STR market reports (data window: February 2025 to January 2026 unless otherwise noted), Rabbu market data (proprietary analytics, accessed early 2026), and Airbtics (data window: June 2024 to May 2025). Where sources diverge materially, the guide lists a Typical range covering the spread.

Definitions:

• ADR is reported separately for peak and off-peak months when the data permits. "Peak" refers to the highest-revenue month for the market; "off-peak" to the lowest.
• Annual occupancy is the percentage of available nights that are booked over the trailing 12 months.
• Annual gross revenue is the median or mean revenue per active listing in the market, before any cost. It includes cleaning fees passed through to guests but excludes any tax remitted by the platform.

These figures describe the market average, not the ceiling. Top-quartile operators routinely earn 30 to 60% above the median; bottom-quartile operators routinely earn 30 to 50% below. The 60-day forward calendar pacing on the property itself is a more reliable revenue signal than any market average.

Cluster 1: Central Florida theme-park markets

Cities covered: Kissimmee, Davenport, Reunion, ChampionsGate, Four Corners, parts of Greater Orlando.

Demand profile: US and international family travel built around Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld. Demand has two structural peaks: late June through mid-August (US summer school break) and the November-December holiday window. Spring break (mid-March to mid-April) layers a third peak. Demand softens in early September, late November (between Halloween and Thanksgiving), and most of January. Resort-style 5-bedroom-plus homes with private pools, themed bedrooms, and game rooms are the dominant product. The buyer demographic is overwhelmingly investor (Florida-resident, US out-of-state, and increasing international), not snowbird.

Seasonality: Moderate in dollar terms compared to the Panhandle, but pronounced in nightly terms because of the peak holiday surcharge.

Typical range (per AirROI, 2026; AirDNA; Funstay-cited data):

Regulatory note (Verified fact). Orlando proper restricts whole-home short-term rental sharply (most permits limit hosts to a primary residence with an owner present); investor-grade STRs concentrate in unincorporated Osceola County (Kissimmee/Davenport area), where the regulatory environment is permissive and HOA rules dominate. Confirm zoning and HOA documents before purchase.

What this means for the Canadian investor. Central Florida is the cluster where the family-oriented, large-format home thesis works. The acquisition price per door is lower than coastal markets; HOA fees on resort-style communities (Champions Gate, Encore at Reunion, Solara, Solterra) are high (often 400 to 700 USD per month) but the pool, water park, and amenity stack drive the rate premium. ADRs are below the state average, but the volume offsets it.

Cluster 2: Gulf Coast markets

Cities covered: Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Marco Island, Sarasota, Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Tampa.

Demand profile: Snowbird-dominated. Peak months are January, February, and March. Demand stays moderate through April, softens through summer, partially recovers in October and November, then ramps for the next snowbird cycle. The buyer demographic is mixed: snowbird owner-users who block December to April for personal use and rent the rest, retiree-investors, and full-time investors. Sarasota in particular has shifted toward an upscale family and retiree market.

Seasonality: Peak-to-trough ADR ratio is typically 1.5x to 2x for condos, lower for pool homes that hold value into the summer.

Typical range:

Regulatory note (Verified fact). Clearwater prohibits STRs under 30 days in most residential zones. Marco Island, Anna Maria Island, and Longboat Key each have local minimum-stay restrictions. Naples city limits and unincorporated Collier County are regulated separately. Confirm both the state DBPR licence and local zoning before underwriting.

What this means for the Canadian investor. This cluster is the closest analogue to a Canadian snowbird thesis: the personal-use plus rental hybrid, where peak rental demand happens to coincide with the months the Canadian owner does not want to be in Florida (May to September). It is also the cluster most exposed to property tax sticker shock: Lee, Collier, Sarasota, and Pinellas counties carry meaningful millage rates, and the non-homestead bill on a 700,000 USD beachfront condo can exceed 9,000 USD per year.

Cluster 3: Panhandle beach markets

Cities covered: Destin, 30A (Seaside, Watercolor, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seacrest), Panama City Beach, Mexico Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Navarre.

Demand profile: Regional drive-traffic from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Panhandle's "summer is the peak" pattern is the inverse of South Florida and the Gulf Coast snowbird markets. Peak months are May, June, and July. Spring break (March) is a secondary peak. Demand collapses from Labor Day through February. The buyer demographic is heavily investor-driven, with a meaningful subset of Canadian investors who have learned that the Panhandle offers higher gross yields than the more famous southern markets.

Seasonality: The most extreme in Florida. Destin's peak month produces over four times the revenue of its low month, per AirROI 2026 data.

Typical range:

Regulatory note (Verified fact). Panama City Beach requires a city short-term rental certificate (250 USD initial, 150 USD annual renewal) and a Business Tax Receipt (1% of gross monthly revenue) in addition to the state DBPR licence. Maximum occupancy is set at four people per full bathroom. Destin caps occupancy at two guests per bedroom plus four additional people. Each Walton County 30A community can have stricter HOA-level minimum-stay rules.

What this means for the Canadian investor. The Panhandle is where Canadian non-resident gross yields can reach double digits on lower-priced 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom homes near the beach, but the cash flow is concentrated in roughly 100 nights of the year. A Canadian owner who blocks the May to August summer for personal use forfeits most of the revenue. The personal-use calendar has to align with the November to March low season for the math to work.

Cluster 4: South Florida

Cities covered: Miami Beach, City of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Beach, Hallandale Beach, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Marathon, Key Largo.

Demand profile: International and snowbird traffic. Peak months are January, February, and March, with March typically the highest single revenue month. Spring break adds capacity stress in late March and early April on the beach markets. Summer (June through September) is hurricane season and softer. Hollywood Beach and the Quebec-French market: Hollywood specifically draws a high concentration of Quebec snowbirds, and many condo HOAs in Hollywood and Hallandale Beach are oriented to the Quebec winter renter.

Seasonality: Pronounced. Peak-to-trough ADR ratio is typically 1.6x to 2.5x.

Typical range:

Regulatory note (Verified fact). Miami Beach restricts STRs to specific zoning districts and prohibits them entirely in most single-family zones; a Resort Tax Certificate, a Business Tax Receipt, and the state DBPR licence are all required. The City of Miami has its own registration regime separate from Miami-Dade County. Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood require local registrations on top of the state licence. Confirm zoning, HOA, and condo association rules before underwriting; many South Florida condo associations ban or restrict short-term rentals regardless of municipal rules.

What this means for the Canadian investor. South Florida is the cluster where ADRs are highest and where revenue-to-price ratios are most compressed. A 1-bedroom Miami Beach condo can run 800,000 USD or more; a 2-bedroom on the right block can clear 1.5 million USD. Gross revenues in the 50,000 to 90,000 USD range produce yields of 4 to 7%, materially below what the Panhandle or Central Florida can achieve. The investor case for South Florida is typically not yield: it is asset-quality, language and market familiarity (especially for Quebec-resident buyers in Hollywood, Hallandale, and Sunny Isles), and personal-use value.

Cluster 5: Atlantic Coast markets

Cities covered: Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, New Smyrna Beach, St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne Beach, Vero Beach, Stuart, Fernandina Beach (Amelia Island), Jacksonville Beach.

Demand profile: Mixed. St. Augustine and Amelia Island are heritage-tourism markets with year-round demand. Daytona Beach is event-driven (Daytona 500 in February, Bike Week in March, Biketoberfest in October). Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast are NASA-launch and cruise-port driven (Port Canaveral). New Smyrna and Vero are quieter retiree and Northeast-snowbird markets. Less seasonal than the Gulf Coast or Panhandle, with lower nightly rates and lower acquisition prices in most micro-markets.

Seasonality: Lower amplitude. Peak-to-trough ADR ratio is typically 1.3x to 1.8x.

Typical range:

Regulatory note (Verified fact). Daytona Beach Shores, New Smyrna Beach, and several Volusia County beachfront municipalities have minimum-stay rules in residential zones. St. Augustine has a registration regime and historic-district restrictions. The state DBPR licence remains the baseline.

What this means for the Canadian investor. Atlantic markets typically offer the best entry-price-to-yield ratio in Florida, particularly in St. Augustine, Amelia Island, and New Smyrna for properties with character. They are less recognised by Canadian buyers than the Gulf Coast or South Florida, which can be either an opportunity (lower acquisition price) or a risk (less liquid resale market).

Side-by-side cluster summary

The figures below are mid-range typical estimates synthesised across the sources cited. They are best used for relative comparison between clusters, not for absolute underwriting.

Worked example: same gross revenue, different cluster economics

Setup: a Canadian investor compares two acquisitions, each underwriting to roughly USD 70,000 in 2026 gross revenue. The numbers below are illustrative and use mid-range assumptions; specific deals diverge.

Option A: 5-bedroom resort home, Kissimmee/Davenport, USD 525,000

• Annual gross revenue: 70,000 USD (50% occupancy, 360 USD ADR including peaks)
• OTA commission and processing (blended 12%): -8,400 USD
• Property management (20%): -14,000 USD
• HOA (Champions Gate, USD 600/mo): -7,200 USD
• Property tax (Osceola County, ~1.4% of 80% assessed): -5,880 USD
• Insurance (~3,500 USD): -3,500 USD
• Cleaning (pass-through): 0 USD
• Net before mortgage and income tax: ~31,000 USD
• Cash yield on purchase: ~5.9% gross of mortgage and tax

Option B: 3-bedroom Gulf-front condo, Destin (close to peak market), USD 850,000

• Annual gross revenue: 70,000 USD (40% occupancy, 480 USD ADR concentrated June-August and March)
• OTA commission and processing (blended 12%): -8,400 USD
• Property management (25% on this rate-volatile market): -17,500 USD
• HOA (USD 1,100/mo for beachfront condo): -13,200 USD
• Property tax (Walton County, ~1.0% of 85% assessed): -7,225 USD
• Insurance (windstorm-heavy, ~6,500 USD): -6,500 USD
• Cleaning (pass-through): 0 USD
• Net before mortgage and income tax: ~17,200 USD
• Cash yield on purchase: ~2.0% gross of mortgage and tax

Same top-line revenue. Materially different net. The Panhandle condo's higher acquisition price, higher HOA, and higher windstorm insurance compress the net far more than the Central Florida resort home does.

This is the calculation Canadian investors most often skip. Gross-revenue benchmarks are not yield benchmarks.

Common mistakes when using market benchmarks

1. Treating one aggregator's figure as truth. AirDNA, AirROI, Rabbu, and Airbtics each scrape and clean the data differently. Their figures for the same market and same year can differ by 20 to 40%. Always triangulate at least two sources.
2. Ignoring micro-market variation. A Kissimmee benchmark is not a ChampionsGate benchmark. A Naples benchmark is not a Park Shore benchmark. Within a single ZIP code, two properties can earn 2x-different revenue based on amenity stack and pool quality.
3. Confusing median revenue with mean revenue. Most aggregators publish median revenue. The mean is typically 20 to 40% higher because top-quartile listings pull it up. Underwriting at the mean systematically overestimates achievable revenue.
4. Ignoring property type within a cluster. A 2-bedroom condo in Destin earns differently from a 4-bedroom Gulf-front home, even on the same beach. Aggregator "all listings" figures blend both.
5. Forgetting that benchmark data lags. AirROI 2026 reports use February 2025 to January 2026 data. Hurricane disruptions, new supply, regulatory changes, and macro travel shifts that occurred in early 2026 are not yet in the data.
6. Underwriting on gross revenue without the cost stack. A 70,000 USD gross can produce 30,000 USD net in one cluster and 12,000 USD net in another, depending on HOA, property tax, insurance, and management.
7. Not stress-testing for hurricane-year disruption. A direct hit or even a near-miss on a coastal market can knock 20 to 40% off a single year's revenue and push insurance premiums up materially the following year. The benchmark figures are normalised; a single-year actual may not be.

Actionable checklist before underwriting

1. Identify the cluster (theme park, Gulf Coast, Panhandle, South Florida, Atlantic).
2. Identify the city and the micro-market (specific ZIP code or community).
3. Pull at least two aggregator sources for that micro-market: AirDNA and AirROI as a minimum, plus Rabbu or Airbtics if available.
4. Note the peak month and the low month for the micro-market.
5. Confirm the property type. Compare 2-BR condo benchmarks to 2-BR condo benchmarks, not to "all listings" averages.
6. Apply a discount of 15 to 25% to the published mean revenue when underwriting a new acquisition; published figures reflect mature, optimised listings.
7. Verify the local STR regulation: city or county zoning, minimum stay rules, registration fees, occupancy caps.
8. Verify HOA rules: many condo associations restrict or ban short-term rentals regardless of municipal rules.
9. Pull comparable property tax bills from the county property appraiser website to verify the non-homestead assessment line.
10. Pull HOA financials and reserve study (especially in Florida coastal markets, post-SB-4D condo reform).
11. Pull a windstorm and flood insurance quote (Citizens or private market). Coastal premiums in 2026 are materially higher than 2024.
12. Build the net cash flow waterfall (gross, OTA, management, HOA, tax, insurance, cleaning recovery, mortgage) before the gross figure becomes a buy decision.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Which Florida cluster has the best gross yield for a Canadian non-resident investor? A. Generally the Panhandle (Destin off-peak property, Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola) and pockets of the Atlantic Coast (St. Augustine, New Smyrna). Per Chalet's 2025-2026 ranking citing Florida market data, Fort Walton Beach has shown gross yields around 14.5% on lower-priced 3-bedroom homes; Pensacola, Davenport, and Deerfield Beach have shown 12 to 13.5%. South Florida and Naples typically run below 7%.

Q. Are these benchmarks before or after OTA commission? A. Before. Aggregator gross-revenue figures include cleaning fees passed through to guests but do not deduct the OTA commission (15.5% Airbnb, 8% VRBO, 15% Booking.com) or any management fee.

Q. How do these benchmarks compare to Canadian markets a Canadian investor might already know? A. Mont-Tremblant and Niagara Falls in Canadian dollar terms produce comparable gross revenue per listing (CAD 35,000 to 80,000 depending on size and amenity). Florida converts those numbers into USD and adds a deeper peak season. Quebec ski markets concentrate revenue in December to March; Florida offers two peak windows. The acquisition price per door in Mont-Tremblant or Whistler is comparable to or higher than Panhandle Florida; Florida acquisitions in Central Florida are typically materially cheaper.

Q. Does Canadian non-resident status affect the revenue side or just the tax side? A. Just the tax side, plus financing terms. Non-resident financing typically requires 25 to 30% down with a foreign-national loan program at a rate premium. The revenue model is identical for a Canadian non-resident and a Florida resident; the difference is on the cost side (no homestead exemption, no Save Our Homes cap) and the tax-filing side (Schedule E plus T776, instead of Schedule E only).

Q. Should I rely on AirDNA's "Smart Rates" or use a separate dynamic pricing tool? A. AirDNA's Smart Rates is a market-comp pricing layer, not a rule-based dynamic pricing engine. PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, or Beyond push adjusted rates directly to Airbnb and VRBO with custom rules. Most professional Florida operators use AirDNA for benchmarking and a separate tool (PriceLabs is the most common) for daily price execution.

Q. How often should I refresh my benchmark assumptions? A. At least annually for a stable market, and any time supply has grown materially (more than 20% year-on-year per AirROI), regulation has changed, or a major weather event has occurred. The Panhandle 2018 to 2026 supply curve, the post-SB-4D condo reform impact on South Florida, and the post-Ian Lee County dynamics are all examples where prior-year benchmarks misled investors who failed to refresh.

How Florida benchmarks compare to Canadian reference markets

For Canadian readers used to domestic STR markets, a partial comparative reference (annual gross revenue per listing, mid-range estimates from AirDNA/AirROI/Airbtics 2025-2026 data):

Caveat (Opinion). Florida revenue figures in USD convert to CAD at roughly 1.36 to 1.40 CAD per USD as of early 2026, so a 60,000 USD Florida listing is roughly 82,000 CAD before any cost. The cost stack (Florida non-homestead property tax, USD-denominated HOA and insurance, Florida hurricane risk) often makes the net comparison less favourable than the gross suggests. The Canadian investor's best comparable is rarely a one-to-one substitution; it is a portfolio question.

CanadaFlorida Editorial Team

Research drawn from primary public sources cited at the bottom of every guide: US and Florida statutes, US and Canadian federal agencies, official Florida county and state authorities, Canadian provincial bodies, and the published market-data products of AirDNA, AirROI, Rabbu, and Airbtics. Every figure, range, and threshold is sourced and stamped with a review date. Aggregator data is cited as estimates, not as audited financials.