Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge STR - are DSCR lenders still bullish on the Smokies for 2026?

The Smokies are still a financeable STR market for us - it is one of the most established cabin markets in the country, which lenders actually like. What has changed since the peak is the haircut: we typically underwrite Smoky Mountain STR at 70-75% of AirDNA projected gross (down from 80%+ a couple years ago), and we lean on the trailing-12-month actuals when the cabin already has a booking history.

On a $625k purchase with high-$90k gross, even at a 70% haircut you are often landing in the 1.05-1.20 DSCR range depending on rate and down payment - workable. The bigger watch-item is the operating-cost line (cleaning, management, the higher Sevier County occupancy tax) eating real cash flow even when the loan itself pencils. Happy to run the cabin through our STR model - (818) 447-7035.

Closed on a Pigeon Forge cabin last fall. The lender used 72% of AirDNA and it still penciled at 1.12. The projections held up too - my first 6 months of actual bookings came in within 8% of the AirDNA estimate.