2023: A Good Year to Invest in the Great Smokies
In the last few years, the Great Smoky Mountain area has been rated by VRBO, Trip Advisor and others who track short term rental revenues as one of the top 10 places in the United States to invest. One month we were thrilled to find we had scooped up three spots out of the top five with Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville being the locations of choice! We have been recognized in the last few years as indeed a lucrative overnight rental market!
What makes this place so special? Well, there are several reasons for the popularity of our area with overnight rental guests who wish to stay in our properties, known as “cabins.” (Don’t let the term “cabin” deceive you. These are not your grandfather’s hunting cabins, but more about that later.)
1.
The Great Smoky National Park is the most visited National Park in the World. We have more visitors every year than the Eiffel Tower, the Roman Coliseum, and the Great Pyramids! With 14 million visitors in 2022 we reached a new record. So why do so many people come here? Well, there are several reasons. First, we’re easy to reach from most of the United States. Seventy percent of the population of the US can drive to us in one day. This makes us a superb location for a spontaneous trip or the perfect spot to meet for reunions and conventions.
2.
The Great Smokies National Park offers our guests a variety of activities ranging from hiking, horseback riding and camping, to bicycling, picnicking & sightseeing. Or as our mountain streams meander out of the park, guests to the area have the opportunity to jump in a tube or raft, or even kayak! The waterways also offer visitors the chance to try their hand at flyfishing. We also have a ski resort, as well as Ripley’s state of the art aquarium. And of course, there are always the thrilling zip-lines and rock-climbing adventures!
3.
The third reason we are such a popular destination is the events and attractions outside of the National Park itself. We also have the Cal Ripken and Rocky Top Sports World, a world class sports venue that hosts national tournaments in all sports – basketball, soccer, baseball, and tennis to name a few. The motorsports enthusiasts are not to be outdone; hosting Rod Runs on multiple weekends throughout the year in Pigeon Forge. It is so congested with Hot Rods on those weekends that we are forced to let the local school kids out early during these amazing events. Visitors numbering in the thousands line our Pigeon Forge strip on Rod Run Weekends, placing their camp chairs out for the weekend. It’s the ultimate tail-gate party!
Speaking of attractions, it doesn’t hurt that we are also home to the most popular theme park in the US! Named Most Popular Theme Park in July 2022, Dollywood Theme Park has won award after award! Most Friendly Park in the World was our local favorite. The park is named for Dolly Parton, who of course was born and raised here in Sevierville. We couldn’t ask for a more effective and delightful ambassador for our area.
4.
The last element in the equation of what makes our region so desirable as a vacation destination is the community vendors, businesses, and other activities we offer during their stay. Live theaters, shopping, dining, roller coasters, and water parks are on every corner to our visitors’ delight! Also, a natural arts and craft “mecca” attracts artists working in several types of media, including ceramics, wood, oils, and watercolors from all over the world. The artists and craftsmen come and teach at our national school of the arts, Arrowmont, and then just never leave, instead setting up shop and living in our popular “Arts and Craft” area as they join our community.
There is just something for everyone in the Great Smoky Mountains! And guess where these guests want to stay? A cabin that is a unique Smoky Mountain experience in itself! These cabins look nothing like home, nor are they “hunting cabins.” Gleaming hardwoods, big logs, carved wood beams, copper tubs, rain showers, game rooms that entertain for hours, pool tables, arcade games, and private movie theaters are common amenities in many of them. Most of the cabins will also have a hot tub on the deck, a favorite spot for guests long after the sun has set when they need to relax their tired muscles from a hike or just shopping. Lit by the moonlight they soak, laughing and telling the stories of the day. Or they will choose to roast marshmallows over the fire pit, making memories that last a lifetime. We even have many cabins with indoor pools so it can rain all week, and no one needs to leave the cabin or be disappointed! Indoor swimming at a cabin is also a popular activity in the wintertime when it’s too cold to do much of anything else.
Truly nowhere else in the United States can you find this massive a collection of log and timber cabins that are true entertainment centers in themselves! From one-bedroom cabins to sixteen bedrooms, wherever people stay while they’re here, a Smoky Mountain Cabin stay will not be soon forgotten! Most guests return two, three, even four times a year taking in each season from the first spring wildflowers to the summer rafting and hiking, to fall leaves that brilliantly stun and finally, winter sports and Festival of Lights surrounding the Holidays! We find we have guests who have been coming for generations. It is their family tradition.
All this good news means that these cabins, a destination unto themselves, will perform very strongly in rental revenues providing the cabin owner with a strong investment. Such performance also affects the cabin’s value and strong appreciation. These cabins have proven stronger performers than hotels, apartment complexes, commercial properties, and residential rental properties with ROI’s (return on investments) of 8 percent to 16 percent routinely. Our investors have found their Smoky Mountain Investment properties have outperformed their stocks and bonds year after year. Many Florida CPA’s send their investors to see us each year.
The expected appreciation for the next few years is extremely strong. Our cabins have doubled in value between 2019 and today. We currently are climbing at an appreciation rate of 12 percent from last year despite the interest rate hike. We believe we will continue to see a slow steady climb; conservatively at about 12-20 percent a year in the next five years.
Lastly, there are several state and local government factors that contribute to how well cabins perform as rentals. Most significantly, our property taxes are exceptionally low, except for our sales tax, which means the tourists are paying for the roads and infrastructure. Additionally, our insurance is very affordable, because unlike beach destinations we don’t have hurricanes and flooding. Our utilities are low, due to TVA creating hydropower from our dam-controlled lakes. Coupled with all these positives, we also have very little red tape in the process of building and maintaining our overnight rental properties. We are a very conservative area, favoring the entrepreneurial spirit and a belief in individual freedom to own property unencumbered by large, local government. This philosophy has created a thriving tourism market for our guests, and an investment opportunity for those who want to share some ownership in our community!
If you or someone you know is interested in a cabin ownership opportunity and want to learn more about how to get started, call, text, or email me today!
