Lexington, KY Rental Market for Investors
An estimated 66% of Lexington'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 780 active for-sale homes in Lexington, Kentucky. The typical listing is priced at $399,000 and is projected to generate about $45,342 a year as a short-term rental.
After setting aside an estimated 20% for operating costs, an estimated 66.0% 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 Lexington #42 of 200 for cash-flow potential.
On market momentum: homes in Lexington sit a median of 40 days on the market, and 40% of active listings came on in just the last 30 days — a fast-moving 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 Lexington, 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 Lexington
Lexington is a broad cash-flow market right now: 243 of the 565 Lexington homes, condos and townhomes we can price confidently clear a DSCR of 1.25. Nine in ten of them are priced under $400,000.
| Price | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150k–$250k | 84%1.53 | 100%1.92 | — | — |
| $250k–$350k | 63%1.26 | 84%1.48 | 95%1.72 | — |
| $350k–$500k | 0%0.83 | 25%1.12 | 40%1.21 | — |
| $500k+ | 0%0.34 | 0%0.76 | 4%0.79 | 8%0.84 |
Darker means a larger share of that group cash-flows. “—” means fewer than 8 active listings — too few to draw a conclusion from.
Lexington in full
| Active for-sale homes analyzed | 780 |
|---|---|
| Median list price | $399,000 |
| Median projected STR revenue (annual, gross) | $45,342 |
| Median average daily rate (ADR) | $219 |
| Median occupancy | 59% |
| Median beds | 3 |
| Median size | 2,050 sqft |
| Estimated cash-flow-positive share | 66.0% |
| Median days on market | 40 days |
| New listings (last 30 days) | 39.5% of active |
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Estimates for educational purposes. Final terms subject to credit, property & program approval.
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