Here's what to know about Cape Cod rentals this summer

Cape Cod is just weeks away from the summer season which means rentals, beaches, and traffic. Is the Cape ready for it?

When it comes to rental availability, Cape Cod realtor Martha Murray says availability is similar to last year with one caveat for June. The heavy snow this winter has pushed back when children get of school, leading to prime availability in June. She adds that during COVID a flood of people bought homes on the Cape, and now they are looking to rent them out. This is increasing availability.

"On the waterfront? A lot of those are booked, but one or two houses back, and certainly two miles back, there's plenty of availability," says Murray.

Families may be turning to the Cape as an alternate to traveling out of New England this season. People may be looking to avoid rising flight costs. Kayak reporting an 18% increase in year-over-year pricing for the start of April.

"That might drive more  people to the Cape because it's driving distance from a lot of places," says Murray, adding that a lot of families on the mid-Cape are likely to make the drive because of their children, "All of the kids know someone who rented down the street, so you got to come back third the week in July because your kids know the other kids are coming."

A similar phenomenon happened last year due to politics, where local traffic rose, but international traffic dropped.

"Even though we lost a lot of Canadian and European travelers, there were a lot more domestic travelers," says Frank Vasello, owner of Relish Bakery and Sandwich shop in Provincetown.

We spoke to Vasello in 2024 when businesses were struggling to get J-1 visa employees into the country to work.

"It's not as bad as it was, but I do know there were some people still having some issues with staffing," Vasello said.

He admits world events are creating concerns about tourism impacts, but he's hopeful, saying Provincetown has a slew of new restaurants coming in, with old favorites opening in new places. It may just be the escape people need.

"Last year many of us had a great season, people needed to get away," Vasello said.