Havre de Grace, MD vs. Highlands, NJ: What Each Desk Wants
Updated: Aug 27
Havre de Grace, Maryland and Highlands, New Jersey both get pulled into the same conversation for an obvious reason: both are small waterfront towns, both sit near a larger body of water that shapes their tourism, and both come up when a host is scanning secondary East Coast markets outside the obvious big-name beach towns. Havre de Grace sits where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay in Harford County, Maryland. Highlands sits on Sandy Hook Bay in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Different bay, different state, different permitting desk, different rental market entirely.
Both towns have real, sourced trailing-twelve-month data worth citing directly and worth keeping on separate lines. Havre de Grace: 41 active listings, $18,791 typical annual revenue, $192 average daily rate, 33.1% occupancy. Highlands: 43 active listings, $34,275 typical annual revenue, $359 average daily rate, 39.6% occupancy. Highlands runs meaningfully higher on every single metric, and that gap is real information about two different markets - not a reason to average the two towns into one composite waterfront-town number.
This page covers what each town's own numbers say, what each town's permitting desk actually wants from a host before they advertise, why the 30-night-minimum stay data reported for each town needs to stay attributed to that specific town, and what genuinely belongs in each town's listing copy versus what's just noise from a comparison that shouldn't be blended in the first place. This is not legal advice.
Havre de Grace's Real Numbers
Havre de Grace's short-term rental market has a specific, sourced trailing-twelve-month figure: AirROI puts typical annual revenue at $18,791 across 41 active listings for the period running August 2025 through July 2026, last updated August 8, 2026. The average daily rate over that period was $192, occupancy came in at 33.1%, and revenue per available night worked out to $70. Year over year, that revenue figure moved up 3.1%, while active listing supply grew 20.6% - a market that's genuinely gaining ground rather than one where a rising listing count is masking a per-listing decline.
The three strongest months in this data are October, August, and November, with October the single busiest month and February the clear slowest. That's a somewhat unusual pattern for a Chesapeake Bay town - a fall-leaning peak season rather than a pure summer peak - and it's worth pricing around directly rather than assuming an August-only marketing push captures the town's real seasonal strength.
Guests booking a Havre de Grace stay average 3.2 nights and book about 64 days ahead of arrival, a shorter stay and shorter lead time than a ferry-dependent island market shows, consistent with a drive-to town within reach of both Baltimore and Philadelphia-area day-trip and weekend traffic. The largest origin market is Baltimore, followed by New York, and Superhost status covers a striking 92.7% of the active listing base - a benchmark that tells any new Havre de Grace host they're entering a market where guest-experience consistency is already the norm, not the exception.
That 92.7% Superhost figure is worth pausing on specifically, because it changes the competitive calculus for anyone entering this market fresh. In a market where nearly every active listing already carries Superhost status, a new host without that badge is competing directly against an established, high-performing peer group rather than a mixed field where Superhost status itself is a meaningful differentiator. The practical implication: a new Havre de Grace host should expect to need strong reviews, fast response times, and a polished listing from day one just to reach parity with the market's existing baseline, not as a long-term aspirational goal.
The combination of a short 3.2-night average stay and a fall-leaning peak season also has a direct pricing implication. A host relying purely on an August-focused calendar will be underpricing October and November relative to what the data shows those months can support, and will be missing the shorter, more frequent turnover that this market's guest behavior suggests works well here - weekend and long-weekend stays timed to the Susquehanna River waterfront and the Maritime Museum rather than week-long vacation stays.
What Havre de Grace's Planning Desk Actually Wants
Havre de Grace's rental compliance runs through the city planning office, reachable at 410-939-1800. The requirement is a city short-term rental license under Chapter 147, Article II of the municipal code - a specific ordinance citation worth having on hand when calling, since it lets the desk confirm exactly which requirements apply rather than starting from scratch on the phone.
The exact current fee for that license should be confirmed directly with the city rather than assumed from an outside source; municipal fee schedules published in a general ordinance can lag behind what's actually charged at the counter, and a host should verify the live figure before budgeting for it. Calling ahead with the Chapter 147, Article II citation in hand is the fastest way to get a straight answer rather than a general description of the process.
A recurring figure in this market's research is that 7.3% of Havre de Grace's 41 listings - about 3 of them - operate with a 30-night minimum stay requirement. That's a small, specific slice of the market choosing a long-stay structure; it's a host decision about stay length, not a measurement of the town's occupancy or demand, and it shouldn't be read as evidence about how busy Havre de Grace is generally.
Given how small that 3-listing group is relative to the 41-listing sample, it's not enough data to draw a strong conclusion about whether long-stay strategies outperform nightly rental in this specific market. It's worth knowing the option exists and that a small handful of local hosts have chosen it, but a new host deciding on a stay-length strategy for a Havre de Grace property should look primarily at the market's dominant nightly-rental pattern - the 3.2-night average stay and the fall-leaning peak season - rather than extrapolating from three outlier listings.
Highlands, New Jersey's Real Numbers
Highlands, New Jersey's own trailing-twelve-month figure, same AirROI window: $34,275 typical annual revenue across 43 active listings, with a $359 average daily rate, 39.6% occupancy, and $152 in revenue per available night. Year over year, that revenue figure moved up a modest 0.8%, a market holding roughly steady rather than growing sharply or contracting.
Every one of Highlands' headline figures runs well above Havre de Grace's - nearly double the typical annual revenue, a substantially higher ADR, and higher occupancy despite a similar listing count. That gap is worth sitting with rather than explaining away: Highlands sits closer to the New York metro area and directly on Sandy Hook Bay with proximity to Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook, which likely supports both a larger addressable guest pool and a stronger price ceiling than a Chesapeake Bay town positioned more toward regional Baltimore and Philadelphia day-trip traffic.
A recurring figure specific to this market: 46.5% of Highlands' 43 listings - nearly half - operate with a 30-night minimum stay requirement. That's a dramatically higher share than Havre de Grace's 7.3%, and it suggests Highlands' host base has moved meaningfully toward a longer-stay strategy relative to Havre de Grace's, whether driven by local regulation encouraging longer stays, stronger extended-stay demand from the New York metro area, or some combination of both.
What Highlands' Borough Clerk Actually Wants
Highlands' rental compliance runs through the borough clerk's office, reachable at 732-872-1224. The requirement is a borough short-term rental permit carrying a $750 annual fee - a specific, confirmed number, unlike Havre de Grace's fee, which requires a direct call to verify the current live rate.
That $750 figure is a meaningful cost to build into any Highlands pro forma, and it's worth comparing against the town's own $34,275 typical annual revenue rather than treating it as a rounding error: at roughly 2.2% of a typical year's revenue, it's a real but manageable line item for an already-operating listing, though a smaller factor for a host weighing whether to enter this specific market in the first place versus a lower-fee alternative.
As with Havre de Grace's 30-night-minimum figure, Highlands' near-half share of long-stay listings deserves attribution care: it describes Highlands' own listing base, not a rule that Havre de Grace hosts should assume applies to their town, and not evidence about Highlands' overall demand level independent of how its hosts have chosen to structure their calendars.
The gap between 7.3% and 46.5% on the same 30-night-minimum measure is large enough to be a genuine market signal rather than noise, even accounting for both towns' relatively small listing counts. Something structural is likely driving Highlands' host base toward longer stays at a much higher rate than Havre de Grace's - whether that's local zoning pressure nudging hosts toward longer minimums, stronger extended-stay demand tied to the New York metro commuter and second-home market, or simply an earlier-adopted local norm among Highlands hosts that newer entrants have followed. A host considering a Highlands purchase should ask the borough clerk directly whether any zoning or licensing distinction treats 30-plus-night stays differently than shorter ones, since that could explain part of the gap.
Keeping Both Towns on Separate, Labeled Lines
The practical rule for any packet covering both towns: cite $18,791 from Havre de Grace's 41 listings on one line, and $34,275 from Highlands' 43 listings on a separate line, each labeled with its own state, permitting desk, and fee structure. These are two separate reporting windows, so treat them as distinct figures rather than blending them into one average, and don't let one town's stronger ADR or occupancy imply anything about the other town's underlying market.
This matters most at the moment a host or investor is deciding where to put capital between the two. Highlands' numbers look stronger across the board, but that doesn't automatically make it the better buy for a specific host - Havre de Grace's lower price point, shorter average stay, and Baltimore-proximity guest base describe a genuinely different kind of property and guest relationship than Highlands' longer-stay-leaning, New York-metro-adjacent market. Compare the two on their own terms rather than treating one town's higher headline number as a simple verdict on which market to enter.
Entry cost is part of that comparison too, even though this page doesn't have confirmed property-price data for either town. A market with Highlands' higher typical revenue very likely commands a higher purchase price to match, which means the revenue gap alone doesn't tell a buyer which market offers the better return on investment - that calculation needs actual local purchase-price data for each town, not just the rental-performance figures covered here.
What Belongs in Each Town's Listing Copy
Havre de Grace's genuine landmarks are specific and worth naming directly: Concord Point Lighthouse, the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, the Promenade, and the Susquehanna River itself. A listing that names these gives a guest searching specifically for Havre de Grace a concrete reason to choose it over a generic "Chesapeake Bay getaway" listing that could describe a dozen other towns along the bay.
Highlands' comparable landmark is Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook, along with its Sandy Hook Bay waterfront position - details that speak directly to a guest searching for Highlands specifically rather than a generic "Jersey Shore" pitch. Neither town's landmarks should be borrowed to describe the other; a Havre de Grace listing referencing Sandy Hook Bay, or a Highlands listing referencing the Susquehanna River, would be describing the wrong town's geography entirely.
Keep every fee, phone number, landmark, and performance figure attributed to its own town in any packet, listing description, or marketing document that touches both markets. The two towns share a loose "small waterfront town" category and little else - different state, different bay, different desk, different fee, and, based on the confirmed data here, a meaningfully different revenue ceiling.
A simple test before publishing any comparison document covering both towns: read each specific detail back and ask whether a reader unfamiliar with either market could tell, from the sentence alone, which town it describes. If a phone number, fee, or landmark could plausibly be swapped between the two without the sentence sounding wrong, the labeling needs to be tightened before that document goes out to a client or a lender.
Related Reading
Related reading for Havre De Grace, MD hosts: same-town spine first, then nearby geo lines. Skip costume national dumps that do not underwrite this driveway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Havre de Grace, Maryland's typical annual short-term rental revenue?
AirROI's trailing-twelve-month data through July 2026 puts typical annual revenue at $18,791 across 41 active listings, with a $192 average daily rate and 33.1% occupancy. Revenue moved up 3.1% year over year while active supply grew 20.6%, suggesting a market gaining both listings and revenue together rather than one where new competition is eroding the average.
What is Highlands, New Jersey's typical annual short-term rental revenue?
The same AirROI window puts Highlands' typical annual revenue at $34,275 across 43 active listings, with a $359 average daily rate and 39.6% occupancy. That's nearly double Havre de Grace's typical revenue on a similar listing count, likely reflecting Highlands' closer proximity to the New York metro area and its Sandy Hook Bay position.
Who do I call about Havre de Grace's short-term rental license?
Havre de Grace's planning office handles short-term rental licensing at 410-939-1800. The requirement is a city license under Chapter 147, Article II of the municipal code. Confirm the current live fee directly with the office, since a general ordinance document can lag behind the actual amount charged at the counter.
Who do I call about Highlands' short-term rental permit?
Highlands' borough clerk's office handles short-term rental permitting at 732-872-1224. The requirement is a borough permit carrying a confirmed $750 annual fee - worth budgeting against the town's $34,275 typical annual revenue, where it works out to roughly 2.2% of a typical year's income for an already-operating listing.
Can I use Highlands' numbers to describe Havre de Grace, or vice versa?
No. The two towns have different, independently sourced figures - $18,791 from 41 listings for Havre de Grace, $34,275 from 43 listings for Highlands - and different permitting desks, fees, and landmarks. Blending them, or citing one town's number while describing the other, produces a misleading figure for whichever town it's applied to.
Does a 30-night minimum stay mean a market has lower occupancy?
No - those are separate measurements. About 7.3% of Havre de Grace's listings and roughly 46.5% of Highlands' listings use a 30-night minimum, which reflects a host's own stay-length choice, not evidence of local demand strength. Highlands' much higher share suggests more of its host base has leaned into a long-stay strategy, not that the town is less busy.
Which town has the stronger short-term rental market, Havre de Grace or Highlands?
By every confirmed headline figure - typical annual revenue, ADR, and occupancy - Highlands runs ahead of Havre de Grace. That doesn't automatically make Highlands the better buy for every host, though: Havre de Grace's lower price point, shorter average stay length, and Baltimore-proximity guest base describe a genuinely different property and guest relationship than Highlands' longer-stay-leaning, New York-metro-adjacent market.
Which months are strongest for each town's short-term rental market?
Havre de Grace's three strongest months are October, August, and November, with February the slowest - a fall-leaning pattern rather than a pure summer peak. Highlands' seasonal data points to a more traditional July-and-August-driven peak. Price each town around its own actual peak months rather than assuming both follow the same coastal-town calendar.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
Highlands, NJ runs nearly double Havre de Grace, MD's typical revenue on a similar listing count - real information about two towns, not a reason to average them together. Name the failure mode the guest can check on the listing.
We help hosts compare markets like these on each town's own confirmed numbers and permitting desk, not a blended guess. Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502. Send the live listing draft and the facts you can actually cite.
Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
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