The August newsletter mentioned that turn-key Sedona STRs are trading well right now. Three of last month’s closings were established Airbnbs with documented rental histories. That is not a fluke. I pulled every closed single-family sale in Sedona this year to see how big that trend actually is.
296 sales, and 64 of them were sold as investments
296 single-family homes closed in Sedona (86336 and 86351) so far in 2026. Of those, 64 were listed with remarks explicitly marketing short-term rental potential, investment upside, or turn-key rental status: “STR allowable,” “active short-term rental,” “turn-key,” “rental history,” and similar language. That is 21.6% of the entire closed single-family market. One out of every five homes that sold this year sold on its rental potential, not just as a place to live.
| STR/Investment-Marketed (64 sales) | Standard Listings (232 sales) | |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1,006,250 | $1,156,400 |
| Median price per sq ft | $495 | $472 |
Median sale price and price per square foot, STR/investment-marketed vs. standard listings, 296 Sedona single-family closings YTD 2026.
Share of the 296 closed Sedona single-family sales YTD 2026 marketed with STR/investment language.
Smaller price tags, higher price per square foot
STR-marketed homes are selling for $150K less on average than the rest of the market, but they are commanding $23 more per square foot. That is not a contradiction. It is what happens when buyers optimize for a different variable. A family buying a forever home is paying for square footage. An STR buyer is paying for bedroom count, guest capacity, and location, in the smallest footprint that still sleeps eight. A 1,800 sq ft turn-key rental in the right spot is out-earning a 3,000 sq ft standard home on a per-square-foot basis, even though its sticker price is lower.
This tracks with what I am seeing in showings too. The STR buyer profile has shifted. It used to be mostly renovation plays: buy something rough, fix it up, list it. Now it is operators who want proven income from day one. All three of the properties in last month’s newsletter closed with real Airbnb review histories and star ratings already attached. That is the market rewarding a track record over potential.
What this means if you are shopping
If you are looking at Sedona as an investment, you are competing in a market where 1 in 5 buyers is thinking exactly like you. Properties with a documented rental history are getting priced for that history, not sold at a discount because the current owner already extracted the value. If you want the upside of an unproven property, you have to be willing to do the work of proving it yourself: get it licensed, build the review history, put in the first year before you see what it can really do.
Either way, run the actual numbers before you decide. The Sedona STR Deal Analyzer models revenue, cost segregation, and 5-year returns for any address you are considering, or reach out directly and I will walk through it with you.
Data sourced from ARMLS, covering Sedona zip codes 86336 and 86351. Filters: property type Residential, dwelling type Single Family Residence, status Closed, close date January 1, 2026 through pull date. A sale is classified as STR/Investment-Marketed if its public remarks contain explicit language such as “short-term rental,” “STR,” “vacation rental,” “Airbnb,” “VRBO,” “turn-key,” “rental history,” “nightly rate,” or “active STR.” This is a proxy for marketing intent, not a confirmed record of STR use or post-sale licensing status.