Buying a Birmingham Rental: Cite $19,569, Keep Lakes Separate
- Jacob Mishalanie

- 17 hours ago
- 11 min read

Cite $19,569 on 1,080 listings. Keep Smith Lake on its own line. Watch this sample. Typical Birmingham listings earned about $19,569 last year from 1,080 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026. The average night was $210. Occupancy was 36.0 percent. Revenue per available night was $76. Year over year is minus 8.3 percent. Active supply moved plus 41.2 percent.
Call Birmingham Planning, Engineering and Permits at 205-254-2211. 710 North 20th Street, Room 207. A dedicated 2026 STR permit dollar amount was not confirmed as a passed fee. A draft ordinance, including a proposed citywide cap near 1,000 listings, was still moving through committee as of 2026.
The three strongest city months are October, April, and March. October is the busiest. January is the slowest. Most guests arrive from Birmingham, then Atlanta. Stay is 4.6 nights, booked about 37 days ahead. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole.
DSCR Starts on Birmingham $19,569
DSCR starts on $19,569 on 1,080 listings. Year over year is minus 8.3 percent. Supply plus 41.2 percent. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Market a Birmingham Stay is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
Year Over Year Is Minus 8.3 Percent
Call Birmingham Planning, Engineering and Permits at 205-254-2211. 710 North 20th Street, Room 207. A dedicated 2026 STR permit dollar amount was not confirmed as a passed fee. A draft ordinance, including a proposed citywide cap near 1,000 listings, was still moving through committee as of 2026. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. Birmingham STR Rules is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line.
Supply Plus 41.2 Percent
October, April, and March are the strong city months. January is the slowest. Occupancy is weakest in July. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Who Books Birmingham is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
A Dock Stay Is Not This City Note
Stay is 4.6 nights. Lead is 37 days. Origin is Birmingham, then Atlanta. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Birmingham Tourism Data is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside.
A Draft Ordinance Is Not a Passed Fee
Professionally managed share is 30.6 percent. Kathleen holds 84. Superhost share is 56.3 percent. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Complete Visitor's Guide to Birmingham on Railro is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
Watch This Sample Size
344 listings, 31.9 percent, set a 30-night minimum. That setting is not occupancy. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. Smith Lake is not Southside. What It Costs to Start a Legal Birmingham STR St is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
Independent Ownership Changes the Hire
Keep Smith Lake, Wedowee, Guntersville, and Mentone on their own lines. Do not invent a lake AirROI year. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. We market. We do not take the lock. Financing a Birmingham Rental Without a Smith La is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
What a Buyer Packet Should Carry
We market. We do not take the lock. Write this heading as the stay a host can actually file. A listing scrape is not the town file. Birmingham vs Smith Lake Desks is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock. A listing scrape is not the town file. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee. Smith Lake is not Southside. We market. We do not take the lock.
Hosts who underwrite Greater Birmingham should keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings, call 205-254-2211, and leave each lake on its own line. We market. We do not take the lock. Write the city or the lake the guest typed. Keep $19,569 on 1,080 city listings on its own line. October is the city peak. January is the city hole. Call 205-254-2211 before you advertise a Birmingham stay. Do not invent a passed STR permit fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did typical Birmingham listings earn last year?
Typical Birmingham listings earned about $19,569 last year from 1,080 active rentals, AirROI trailing twelve months from August 2025 through July 2026. Average night was $210, occupancy 36.0 percent, and revenue per available night was $76. Year over year is minus 8.3 percent, while active supply jumped 41.2 percent. Keep Smith Lake on its own line.
When is Birmingham's strongest month?
October is the busiest, with April and March the other strong months. January is the slowest, and occupancy is weakest in July. Confirm current fees at Birmingham Planning, Engineering and Permits before advertising a 2026 season, and keep this pattern specific to the city rather than a Smith Lake listing.
Do I need a Birmingham STR permit in 2026?
Call Birmingham Planning, Engineering and Permits at 205-254-2211, 710 North 20th Street, Room 207. A dedicated 2026 STR permit dollar amount has not been confirmed as a passed fee; a draft ordinance, including a proposed citywide cap near 1,000 listings, was still moving through committee as of 2026. Confirm the current status directly and don't invent a fee.
Is a 30-night minimum the same as occupancy?
No. 344 listings, 31.9 percent of the 1,080 active rentals, set a 30-night minimum, but typical stay is still 4.6 nights with a 37-day lead time. A long minimum-stay setting doesn't change what guests actually book in this market. Confirm current ordinance status with the city before you set your own minimum.
Should I hire a manager in Birmingham and on the lakes?
Professionally managed share in Birmingham is 30.6 percent; Kathleen holds the largest local portfolio at 84 listings. The Smith Lake ring, by contrast, still runs heavily independent. Don't buy one manager pitch to cover both markets — the ownership structure and guest occasions differ substantially.
Who books a Birmingham stay?
Most guests arrive from Birmingham itself, then Atlanta. Typical stay is 4.6 nights with a 37-day lead time. UAB and the Civil Rights Institute are city-driven bookings, while a Memorial Day dock weekend is a lake-driven booking. Keep the two occasions distinct in your listing copy.
Can I file Smith Lake as the Birmingham year?
No. Birmingham's average night was $210 across 1,080 listings, and this data pass did not produce a separate Smith Lake AirROI year. Keep $19,569 on its own line for Birmingham, and don't substitute a lake-market figure when citing this city to a buyer.
What should a buyer packet carry?
Cite $19,569 across 1,080 city listings, note supply up 41.2 percent and year over year down 8.3 percent, and include the permit desk number, 205-254-2211. Keep any Smith Lake figures on a separate line rather than folding them into the city total.
Where do I confirm the city desk?
Call Birmingham Planning, Engineering and Permits at 205-254-2211, 710 North 20th Street, Room 207, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The draft ordinance and any citywide cap were still in committee as of 2026, so confirm current status before you advertise.
How should a host split city and lake copy?
File two separate products. Birmingham copy should lead with UAB and Railroad Park; Smith Lake copy should lead with the dock and lake-weekend occasion. Keep those files apart rather than writing one pitch that tries to cover both markets at once.
Related Reading
More PLACE, STATE reading already live on Crest & Cove.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
If a buyer packet still averages a dock into this city note, send the parcel.
Before you bid city or dock, send both addresses. We will keep the files apart. Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.




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