Report: Portland leads in full-time Airbnbs

PORTLAND — Nearly one in six Portland homes listed on Airbnb operate as full-time vacation rentals, an analysis by the data journalism website FiveThirtyEight found, a higher ratio than any U.S. city examined except Honolulu.

The analysis found that Airbnb, a website that lets users easily rent their property to travelers like a hotel, has likely had little effect on housing prices. But it also said the full-time rentals are the most likely to push housing costs higher because they might otherwise be rented out to locals.

What’s more, Airbnb depends on these commercial-tier rentals for 40 percent of its revenue in Portland, the analysis found, so the company’s business depends on growing their ranks.

FiveThirtyEight defined “commercial” Airbnbs as those rented out 180 days a year or more. That’s enough time to account for every weekend day plus five work weeks.

Airbnb disputed the analysis. A company spokesman was quoted as saying 180 days was an arbitrary threshold, and said many of the qualifying listings might actually be commercial enterprises like boutique hotels or guest houses that use the platform.

The analysis found Portland has 2,700 active Airbnb listings in all, which represents just 1 percent of its overall housing stock. Given the relatively small number of units, the impact on housing prices currently is likely small, FiveThirtyEight said, quoting several housing and land-use experts.