Louisville, KY Rental Market for Investors
An estimated 80% of Louisville'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 2,126 active for-sale homes in Louisville, Kentucky. The typical listing is priced at $299,900 and is projected to generate about $38,849 a year as a short-term rental.
After setting aside an estimated 20% for operating costs, an estimated 79.9% 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 Louisville #9 of 200 for cash-flow potential.
On market momentum: homes in Louisville sit a median of 39 days on the market, and 42% 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 Louisville, 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 Louisville
Louisville is a broad cash-flow market right now: 651 of the 1,218 Louisville homes, condos and townhomes we can price confidently clear a DSCR of 1.25. Nine in ten of them are priced under $377,000.
| Price | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $150k | — | 100%1.91 | — | — | — |
| $150k–$250k | 40%1.13 | 74%1.46 | 90%1.71 | 100%2.22 | — |
| $250k–$350k | — | 17%1.09 | 63%1.31 | 71%1.42 | 92%1.87 |
| $350k–$500k | — | 22%0.93 | 18%1.06 | 43%1.21 | 63%1.33 |
| $500k+ | — | 0%0.52 | 5%0.76 | 8%0.90 | 14%0.96 |
Darker means a larger share of that group cash-flows. “—” means fewer than 8 active listings — too few to draw a conclusion from.
Louisville in full
| Active for-sale homes analyzed | 2,126 |
|---|---|
| Median list price | $299,900 |
| Median projected STR revenue (annual, gross) | $38,849 |
| Median average daily rate (ADR) | $201 |
| Median occupancy | 53% |
| Median beds | 3 |
| Median size | 1,820 sqft |
| Estimated cash-flow-positive share | 79.9% |
| Median days on market | 39 days |
| New listings (last 30 days) | 41.9% of active |
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Estimates for educational purposes. Final terms subject to credit, property & program approval.
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