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The Unrealistic Affordable Housing rgument "Despite fears that Airbnb may lead to rent increases, *our research has found that short-term rentals are not the biggest contributor to high rents, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable segments of a city's residents. Put simply, restricting Ai rbn b's is not going to be an effective tool for solving the housing -affordability problems in many U.S. cities." *Harvard Business Review What Does Banning Short -Term Rentals Really Accomplish? by Sophie Calder -Wang, Chiara Farronato, and And rey Fradkin � Understanding the Reality Many city governments are interested in whether short-term rentals disproportionately affect more vulnerable segments of their population for example minorities or low- income residents. Yet, research has found that the increase in rents is more concentrated among high -income, educated, white renters and not the population City governments are, in general, concerned with. This is because short-term rentals tend to be concentrated in touristy, centrally located areas where higher -income residents live. The majority of short-term rentals are a travel luxury typically afforded by higher -income earners. These elevated properties are more expensive to rent based on their design, amenities, location and fully furnished accommodations, " If " STR homes were to transition to traditional rentals, the market monthly rent would be well above the affordability of lower -income residents. 0 an RENT Small Impact on Rental Cost According to independent research*, the growth of Airbnb has had an extremely small impact — and in many cases, no impact at all — on rental cost increases. There is also little evidence that regulations aimed at limiting short-term rentals have successfully brought down housing costs significantly. Effects of Short -Term Rentals on Local Housing Prices and Rents: A Literature Survey -� Previously Used Seasonal Housing A common fallacy is that long-term housing is being converted to STRs, thereby detracting from existing housing inventory. The study found the number of seasonal I recreational I occasional use properties closely resembles the homes listed on STR platforms, indicating that the existing STR inventory has historically been used as tourism -related lodging or was occupied part-time. This further suggests that year-round housing units are not being converted to STRs at a high rate. Rather, long-term housing inventory growth has not kept pace with STR growth. Prepare by SASTRA for the City of Santa Ana 3