Birmingham, AL Rental Market for Investors
An estimated 77% of Birmingham's active listings could cash-flow as a short-term rental — here's what the numbers say for investors, as of October 2026.
As of October 2026, we analyzed 742 active for-sale homes in Birmingham, Alabama. The typical listing is priced at $279,000 and is projected to generate about $38,995 a year as a short-term rental.
After setting aside an estimated 20% for operating costs, an estimated 76.6% of those homes could still cover an investor mortgage payment on short-term-rental income — well above the 53.1% median across the 200 major metros we track, ranking Birmingham #14 of 200 for cash-flow potential.
On market momentum: homes in Birmingham sit a median of 68 days on the market, and 24% of active listings came on in just the last 30 days — a steadily paced market, which shapes how much room there is to negotiate.
For a DSCR loan — which qualifies on the property's rental income rather than your personal income — that's a relatively healthy setup: in Birmingham, a meaningful share of listings throw off enough short-term-rental income, after costs, to cover an estimated investor mortgage payment.
What actually works in Birmingham
Birmingham is a broad cash-flow market right now: 338 of the 544 Birmingham homes, condos and townhomes we can price confidently clear a DSCR of 1.25. Nine in ten of them are priced under $353,000.
| Price | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $150k | — | — | 100%2.35 | — | — |
| $150k–$250k | 50%1.25 | 85%1.76 | 86%1.73 | 96%1.79 | — |
| $250k–$350k | 0%0.85 | 60%1.32 | 80%1.45 | 36%1.23 | — |
| $350k–$500k | — | 7%0.97 | 27%1.15 | 78%1.41 | — |
| $500k+ | — | — | 0%0.81 | 7%0.85 | 21%1.06 |
Darker means a larger share of that group cash-flows. “—” means fewer than 8 active listings — too few to draw a conclusion from.
Birmingham in full
| Active for-sale homes analyzed | 742 |
|---|---|
| Median list price | $279,000 |
| Median projected STR revenue (annual, gross) | $38,995 |
| Median average daily rate (ADR) | $188 |
| Median occupancy | 58% |
| Median beds | 3 |
| Median size | 1,695 sqft |
| Estimated cash-flow-positive share | 76.6% |
| Median days on market | 68 days |
| New listings (last 30 days) | 24.4% of active |
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Estimates for educational purposes. Final terms subject to credit, property & program approval.
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