Buying a Coeur d'Alene STR Rental in 2026: The Honest Numbers
Buying a short-term rental in Coeur d'Alene means underwriting one town's numbers, not a regional average. On Air ROI's extract, filed for the window running August 2025 through July 2026, typical listings in Coeur d'Alene earned about $29,149 last year across 766 active rentals. That figure, not a blended Pacific Northwest average and not a neighboring city's line, is what belongs in a buyer packet for a Coeur d'Alene address.
The same extract puts Coeur d'Alene's average daily rate at about $327, occupancy at about 40.0 percent, and revenue per available rental, or Rev PAR, at about $131. Those three numbers reconcile loosely against the $29,149 typical-year figure, which makes the set useful as a sanity check on a seller's pro forma, not just a headline to repeat.
This page keeps Coeur d'Alene facts on Coeur d'Alene. Spokane is a separate market with its own file: about $21,989 in typical revenue from 826 active rentals on the same August 2025 through July 2026 window. Wherever Spokane shows up below, it stays on its own line rather than getting folded into a combined Coeur d'Alene case.
That separation matters more than it sounds like it should. A buyer packet that averages two different cities' revenue lines into one "north Idaho" figure produces a number that describes neither market accurately, and a lender reading that packet has no way to trace the blended figure back to a real, sourced extract. Keeping Coeur d'Alene and Spokane on separate lines, all the way through the packet, is what makes every other number on this page defensible. This is not legal advice.
What Typical Listings Actually Earned Last Year
Typical Coeur d'Alene listings earned about $29,149 last year from 766 active rentals, on Air ROI's extract filed for August 2025 through July 2026. "Typical" here means a market-level figure across the full set of active listings, not a top-decile screenshot pulled from one waterfront property, and a buyer packet should say so explicitly rather than let a single high performer stand in for the town.
Independent hosts still write most of this 766-listing set, which matters for underwriting: this is not a market dominated by a handful of professionally managed portfolios setting the ceiling, and a new owner competing here is competing against other independent operators as much as against large management companies.
Year over year, revenue in this sample moved minus 7.3 percent while supply moved plus 7.1 percent. Read together, that is more listings chasing a smaller total pie, which argues for underwriting this year's $29,149 conservatively rather than assuming last year's number as a floor for next year.
Where the Calendar Actually Pays
in this sample, August, June, and July carry the year. A buyer who plans debt service, cleaning schedules, and cash reserves should build the calendar around those three months producing the bulk of annual revenue, not around a generic "summer is good" assumption that spreads demand evenly across the season.
January is the revenue hole on this same extract, and it is also where occupancy runs weakest. That is useful because it means the slow month and the low-occupancy month are the same month here, not two separate problems stacked on top of each other. A reserve fund sized for one flat month, positioned in January, covers the actual shape of this market's calendar.
Typical stay length in this sample is about 4.8 nights, and most guests arrive from Seattle, followed by Spokane. That combination points toward furnishing and unit-size decisions built for a several-night stay from a regional drive market, not a one-night business-travel unit and not a month-long relocation unit.
The 30-Night Minimum Question
About 39.7 percent of listings in this sample run a 30-night minimum stay. Some owners use that setting as a way to sidestep short-term categories in local rules, and a buyer evaluating an existing listing should ask directly whether that is why the minimum is set where it is, rather than assuming it reflects guest demand.
A 30-night minimum is not the same thing as high occupancy, and it is not a substitute for confirming actual registration status. Raising a minimum stay changes who can book, but it does not by itself change what the City of Coeur d'Alene requires, and a buyer should treat those as two separate questions to answer independently.
Typical stay length across the full extract is still about 4.8 nights, which means the 30-night segment is a minority approach here, not the market norm. A buyer modeling revenue on a property that will run under a 30-night minimum should not simply apply the town's $29,149 typical-year figure, since that figure reflects the mixed market, not the long-stay subset alone.
Registration and City Files Before You Close
Idaho Code 67-6539, as amended by House Bill 583 effective July 1, 2026, states that a city may not require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental. In Coeur d'Alene, City Resolution 26-067 removes remaining short-term rental permit fees, which is consistent with that statewide change.
This page does not guess a Coeur d'Alene STR permit dollar figure, and a buyer should not either. Confirm current registration and any remaining city file requirements directly at cdaid.org, or by phone at 208-769-2300, with the planning line at 208-769-2274, before treating a purchase as contingent on short-term rental use.
Coeur d'Alene sits in Kootenai County, and county-level lodging tax obligations are a separate confirmation from city registration status. A buyer should not assume that removing a city permit fee also removes county tax obligations; those live on separate pages and should be checked separately at closing.
Coeur d'Alene vs. Spokane on the Buyer's Spreadsheet
Spokane listings earned about $21,989 last year from 826 active rentals, on the same August 2025 through July 2026 window used for Coeur d'Alene. That is lower typical revenue than Coeur d'Alene's $29,149 despite Spokane carrying more active supply, which points to a demand difference between the two markets rather than a rounding error in the extract.
A buyer evaluating a Coeur d'Alene property should not blend these two cities into a single "north Idaho" or "Inland Northwest" number for underwriting purposes. Spokane is useful as regional context, and as a reminder that guests coming from Spokane already show up in Coeur d'Alene's own origin data, but the two revenue lines belong on separate rows in any spreadsheet built around one specific driveway.
Hosts who underwrite a Coeur d'Alene stay should keep $29,149 on 766 listings as the anchor figure, confirm registration status with the city desk that matches the parcel, and leave Spokane's $21,989 on 826 listings as a separate, clearly labeled comparison line rather than an input to the Coeur d'Alene math.
Furnishing and Guest-Fit Decisions Backed by the Data
Most Coeur d'Alene guests in this sample arrive from Seattle, followed by Spokane, and stay a typical 4.8 nights. That is a meaningfully different guest than a one-night business traveler or a month-long relocation tenant, and a buyer choosing furniture, bedding counts, and kitchen equipment should design around a multi-night regional visitor rather than either extreme.
A drive-market guest from Seattle or Spokane is more likely to arrive by car than by plane, which makes parking capacity and driveway access a real factor in a property's ability to convert lookers into bookers, not just a footnote in the listing description. A buyer walking a property should confirm parking works for the guest this data actually describes.
Lead time before booking runs about 56 days on the broader Coeur d'Alene extract, which gives a new owner a meaningful runway to finish furnishing and photography ahead of the peak August, June, and July window rather than scrambling to list a bare unit the week before summer demand arrives.
What This Means for Purchase Price Negotiation
A seller's listing agent may present a pro forma that assumes peak-season nightly rates repeated across every week of the year. The actual extract shows occupancy at about 40.0 percent, meaning the property sits empty more nights than it is booked, and a buyer should ask any seller-supplied projection to reconcile against that occupancy figure line by line before it factors into an offer.
Where a seller's number diverges sharply from the $29,149 typical-year figure and the $327 ADR behind it, that gap is worth understanding before negotiating price, not after closing. A property that outperformed the town average may have a specific reason, such as a waterfront location or an unusually strong host reputation, and a buyer should ask what that reason is rather than assume it will transfer automatically to new ownership.
Because supply in this sample grew 7.1 percent year over year while revenue fell 7.3 percent, a buyer has some room to negotiate on the assumption that competition is intensifying, not easing. A purchase price built on last year's strongest month, rather than the $29,149 typical-year figure, is a purchase price built on the wrong baseline.
This is where a buyer benefits from asking a listing agent or seller directly for the underlying booking data behind any pro forma, rather than accepting a summary spreadsheet at face value. A seller who can produce actual monthly revenue, occupancy, and ADR figures that reconcile with the shape of this sample is offering a stronger negotiating position than one who cannot, and that gap is worth raising before price is finalized, not after.
Common Underwriting Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake in a Coeur d'Alene short-term rental purchase is multiplying the $327 average daily rate by 365 nights and calling that annual revenue. That calculation ignores the 40.0 percent occupancy figure entirely and produces a number several times larger than what typical listings actually earned last year, which is $29,149 in this sample.
A second common mistake is treating named summer events and lake-season marketing as if they were occupancy data. Named event weekends are demand signals, not measured occupancy, in this sample, and a buyer packet should not substitute a busy-looking calendar photo for the actual $29,149, $327, 40.0 percent, and $131 figures behind the town's typical year.
A third mistake is blending Coeur d'Alene and Spokane into one regional revenue figure to make a deal pencil. Spokane's $21,989 on 826 listings and Coeur d'Alene's $29,149 on 766 listings are two different markets on the same extract window, and a buyer packet for a Coeur d'Alene parcel should never average the two together to justify a purchase price.
Building the Buyer Packet
A complete buyer packet for a Coeur d'Alene short-term rental should carry the revenue baseline of $29,149 on 766 listings, the ADR and occupancy math behind it at $327 and 40.0 percent, a seasonality plan that treats January as the reserve-fund month, a stated minimum-stay policy, and a registration confirmation obtained directly from the city rather than inferred from a listing site.
Lenders underwriting a debt-service coverage ratio on a short-term rental purchase generally want a market-level revenue figure to anchor projections, rather than a seller's best-case pro forma. Starting that conversation from $29,149 on 766 listings, instead of an inflated monthly projection, gives a buyer a defensible number to bring into a financing discussion, and it gives a lender a figure that can be traced back to a named source rather than a hopeful spreadsheet market.
None of this replaces direct confirmation at the desk. Facts on this page come from a single AirROI extract filed for August 2025 through July 2026, and remaining 2026 registration questions should be confirmed at cdaid.org or by phone before a buyer finalizes an offer contingent on short-term rental use in Coeur d'Alene. A buyer who does both, the math and the phone call, closes with far fewer surprises than one who does only the math.
Marketing a Coeur d'Alene short-term rental well after closing is a separate skill from underwriting the purchase, but the two rely on the same underlying numbers. A listing strategy, pricing calendar, and photography plan built around the actual $29,149 typical year, the August-June-July peak, and the January hole will outperform a generic template borrowed from a different market, because it is built on what this specific town's guests actually do.
Related Reading
More Buying a Coeur d'Alene STR Rental in 2026 host reading on desks, calendars, and listing clarity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Coeur d'Alene STR permit before I advertise?
Idaho Code 67-6539, as amended by House Bill 583 effective July 1, 2026, says a city cannot require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental. Coeur d'Alene's City Resolution 26-067 removes remaining STR permit fees, consistent with that change. This is not legal advice. Confirm current, remaining 2026 requirements directly with the City of Coeur d'Alene at cdaid.org or 208-769-2300 before advertising a new listing, since local files can carry transitional details this page does not track.
What did typical Coeur d'Alene listings earn last year?
Typical listings in Coeur d'Alene earned about $29,149 last year, from 766 active rentals, on Air ROI's extract filed for the window running August 2025 through July 2026. That figure sits alongside an average daily rate near $327, occupancy near 40.0 percent, and revenue per available rental near $131. A buyer packet should carry this exact set of figures rather than a single high-performing listing's screenshot.
Is a 30-night minimum the same as strong occupancy?
No. About 39.7 percent of listings in this sample set a 30-night minimum, but typical stay length across the full market is still about 4.8 nights. A 30-night setting changes who can book a unit; it does not by itself raise occupancy or replace confirming a property's actual registration status with the city. Treat the minimum-stay decision and the registration question as two separate items to verify.
How does Coeur d'Alene compare to Spokane for a buyer?
Spokane listings earned about $21,989 last year from 826 active rentals on the same August 2025 through July 2026 window, versus Coeur d'Alene's $29,149 from 766 listings. Spokane carries more supply but lower typical revenue per listing. in a buyer spreadsheet; do not blend them into one regional figure when underwriting a specific Coeur d'Alene address.
Which months should a buyer plan revenue around?
in this sample, August, June, and July are the peak revenue months for Coeur d'Alene, and January is the revenue hole, coinciding with the weakest occupancy month. A buyer should size cash reserves and debt-service cushions around a flat January rather than assuming demand spreads evenly across the calendar. Named summer events add visible demand but are not the same thing as measured occupancy in this sample.
Where do most Coeur d'Alene short-term rental guests come from?
Most guests arrive from Seattle, followed by Spokane, with a typical stay of about 4.8 nights in this sample. That origin pattern suggests a regional drive market rather than a long-haul fly-in audience, which is worth factoring into furnishing, parking, and marketing decisions for a buyer evaluating a specific property's fit with the guests who actually book here.
Does the county add separate requirements beyond the city?
Coeur d'Alene sits in Kootenai County, and lodging tax obligations are confirmed separately from city registration status; removing a city permit fee does not automatically remove county-level tax obligations. A buyer should confirm both the city's remaining 2026 files at cdaid.org and any Kootenai County lodging tax pages independently before closing on a property intended for short-term rental use, since these two categories are checked at different desks.
Is last year's revenue a safe number to project forward?
Use it as a starting point, not a guarantee. Year over year in this sample, revenue moved minus 7.3 percent while supply moved plus 7.1 percent, meaning more listings are competing for a smaller total pie. A buyer underwriting a purchase should treat $29,149 on 766 listings as a conservative anchor rather than assume growth, given the direction both figures moved on the most recent extract.
What should a lender see when underwriting this purchase?
Lenders generally want a market-level revenue figure behind a debt-service coverage ratio calculation, rather than a seller's best-case monthly projection. Bringing $29,149 on 766 active listings, sourced from Air ROI's August 2025 through July 2026 extract, into that conversation gives a buyer a defensible, sourced number instead of an guessed monthly figure that cannot be traced back to underlying data.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
Coeur d'Alene short-term rentals earned about $29,149 typical last year across 766 listings. That is the number a buyer packet should carry, not a screenshot.
Ready to market a Coeur d'Alene short-term rental against real numbers instead of guesswork? Crest & Cove Creative builds listing strategy, seasonal calendars, and marketing plans anchored to this town's actual revenue, occupancy, and guest-origin data so your new property competes on facts from day one.
Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
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