A cottage at the beach. No reservation? No problem.
Property owners and managers at Plum Island and Salisbury Beach say the market for their rental units is soft this year compared to previous summers.
The slowdown applies equally to people who have a single cottage to rent out and those who have dozens of places.
"I'm about 10 percent off the pace from June 1 last year," said Tom Saab of Tom Saab Associates, one of the largest rental and real estate agencies at Salisbury Beach.
Saab said the season at Salisbury is 10 weeks long, from June 27 to Labor Day, and he has about 80 properties to manage. Of the 800 total weeks to fill, he said, he still has about 200 weeks vacant.
He said 95 percent of his properties have ocean frontage.
"There are unbelievable choices out there for people who want to be on the oceanfront," Saab said.
Bookings are off in part because of the economy.
"We've had people call us and tell us they can't come back this year because they've lost their job," he said.
Saab's units rent for between $1,000 and $2,400 per week.
On Plum Island, Linda McKeehan has 10 to 15 units under management and another handful that she shows for other people.
McKeehan said owners are willing to be more flexible about price when the economy is faltering.
"I might be down a little, but prices are more negotiable," she said.
McKeehan said her oceanfront, ocean-view and basin-front properties are pretty much filled for the summer, but she still has vacancies and continues to get calls.
"I have some new ones that have openings," she said.
Laura Arling has three properties on the island, one of which is new to the market this year.
"It was slow to start," she said. "Usually, I'm fully booked by February, but I have a few weeks left."
Arling said she is still getting calls, as was the owner of a single Plum Island unit, who declined to give his name.
"I've been getting calls, but not much is rented," he said.
McKeehan's rent for between $1,500 and $3,300 per week.
Arling's rent for between $950 and $2,400 per week.
Another one-cottage owner, Dave Pickard, said business is "a lot worse" than in years past.
Pickard said his Northern Boulevard, oceanside property is booked only for the first two weeks of July so far.
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