Sunset Park Airbnb Listings Up Nearly 30 Percent Despite City Crackdown: Report

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Airbnb rentals in Sunset Park have increased nearly 30 percent since last year, despite a city crackdown on short-term listings, a recent analysis has found.

Crain's New York looked at Airbnb data scraped by InsideAirbnb to see the number of listings before and after the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement began fining violators of its new policy.

Both the total number of listings and active listings across the city have increased since February, when the fines started, Crain's found.

From June of 2016 to June of 2017, the number of active listings — listings that have at least one day of availability — increased dramatically in Sunset Park, jumping 29.2 percent during that time.

That's in line with significant increases in areas "where affordable housing is in short supply," according to Crain's.

"We are not surprised more and more hardworking New Yorkers are looking to home sharing as a way to earn extra money in an increasingly expensive city," an Airbnb spokesperson told Crain's.

Read the full Crain's story here.

Image via Jim.henderson, Wikimedia Commons