Why Gearhart Is Telling a Different Story Than Cannon Beach

Two towns on the same stretch of the North Coast, both with strict short-term rental rules, are behaving very differently. That surprises people, because the usual assumption is that tighter STR rules mean a weaker market. If that were the whole story, Gearhart and Cannon Beach would look alike. They don’t.

The difference isn’t the regulation itself. It’s who is buying, and why.

Why This Comparison Matters Right Now

As Q4 begins, owners in both towns are deciding whether to hold or sell. Many are also reading headlines about “the coast” and assuming they apply to their own situation.

They don’t, and the gap between these two towns shows why. A seller who understands which buyer pool their town actually draws makes a different decision from one who is reacting to a coastwide narrative.

What Most People Misunderstand

The common assumption is that STR restrictions are one force with one result. They aren’t. The same kind of rule can produce different outcomes depending on what the town’s market was built on in the first place.

In Cannon Beach, a meaningful share of buyers and owners over the past several years were weighing rental income as part of the purchase. When the permit structure narrowed, that part of the equation changed. In Gearhart, short-term rentals have been prohibited outright under a municipal ordinance. Its buyers have been choosing the town for something else, which is the way of life.

When rental income was never part of the pitch, a rental restriction has little to take away.

The Cannon Beach Side of the Contrast

It helps to be precise about what Cannon Beach’s rules actually say, because they’re often misdescribed.

The city is no longer issuing new lifetime unlimited permits, and the number of 14-day licenses is capped at 165 citywide. New applicants join a waiting list. A 14-day license is not “14 days a year.” It authorizes one tenancy within a 14-consecutive-day window, and that can repeat, which works out to roughly 26 rental periods in a year.

Permits are issued to a specific owner. When the property sells, the permit is void, and the next owner starts at the back of the waiting list. So a Cannon Beach buyer can’t assume they’re inheriting your rental rights.

On price, Cannon Beach is a small market, and small markets can mislead. Over the most recent twelve months, 48 homes sold with a median of $907,000. In the prior twelve months, 34 sold with a median of $1,272,500. That looks like a steep drop, but it mostly reflects mix: more homes sold, and fewer expensive ones were among them. It isn’t evidence that every home lost value.

What Gearhart Looks Like

Gearhart’s numbers point in a different direction:

• A median sale price of about $894,250, with roughly 10.4% appreciation year over year

• A 41-day average time on market, with homes closing at about 99.7% of asking

• Sales volume that rose from 53 to 63 homes in a geographically limited town

Gearhart is also a small market, so I wouldn’t over-read any single figure. But the pattern is consistent across the signals: homes sell quickly and close near asking, with steady demand against limited supply.

The Real Driver: Who Is Actually Buying

The most useful question for any seller is who is actually buying in their town.

Gearhart’s buyers are largely lifestyle and primary-home buyers: remote workers, retirees, and households who want North Coast living and plan to stay. They aren’t running rental projections, so they aren’t sensitive to rental rules. They’re weighing the town, the home, and how they’ll live in it.

That tends to produce a steadier buyer base. A buyer who is choosing a place to live is less likely to walk away because a spreadsheet changed.

Gearhart’s limited, geographically constrained inventory reinforces this. A town that can’t easily add supply, paired with consistent lifestyle demand, tends to support values over time.

Equity-Rich Owners Hold the Leverage

For homeowners in Gearhart with substantial equity, this adds up to a favorable position. The market has been supporting sales at or near asking, and buyers have been decisive.

That leverage doesn’t mean urgency. It means you have room to prepare properly. The sellers who benefit most are the ones who price against current comparables, present the home for the lifestyle buyer, and avoid marketing it as an income property it isn’t.

What This Means for Each Group

• Gearhart sellers: Your positioning matters more than your timing. Show the home to the buyer who is already choosing the town, and base your price on comparables in your tier.

• Cannon Beach sellers: Look at your permit status, your tier’s actual sales, and your carrying cost rather than the citywide median or the Gearhart headlines.

• Buyers weighing both: Decide whether you’re buying for lifestyle or for income. The answer points you toward different towns and different questions.

Questions Worth Asking

• Who is the realistic buyer for my specific home, and does my marketing speak to that person?

• Is my sense of my market based on my own town’s data, or on a coastwide narrative?

• If rental income is part of my plan, do I know what my town’s rules actually say, including what happens at sale?

• What did homes in my tier and property type actually sell for, rather than what the citywide median says?

The Strategic Perspective

STR restrictions haven’t produced the same result everywhere because they don’t act on every market in the same way. Where rental income was part of what supported demand, a change in the rules matters. Where it never was, it matters far less.

That’s why understanding the actual buyer pool is worth more than any single statistic. It tells you which headlines apply to you and which don’t.

If you own in Gearhart and want to see where your home sits in this market, request a Gearhart Market Review. It covers comparable sales in your tier, the buyer profile active in your price range, and what timing makes sense for you. It’s built on your numbers, not a coastwide average.

The 2026 Oregon Coast Second-Home MapSTR rules changed. Inventory shifted. Smart buyers are looking in different places than they were two years ago. This is where opportunity still exists — Astoria to Pacific City.Get your free copy here: ted-tanner.manus.space

For owners in either town: when you think about your own market, what do you believe is driving buyer demand, and has that matched what you’ve seen? Share it in the comments, or message me if you’d rather talk through your situation privately.