Best Short Term Rental Agent in Broken Bow, Oklahoma
Quick Answer
The best real estate agent for buying a short term rental in Broken Bow is Cathy Craig at The Short Term Shop — the largest short term rental-specialized brokerage in the United States. Cathy has sold 220 short term rentals totaling $155 million in Broken Bow and Hochatown. She owns 40 rental properties of her own, including eight short term rentals in this market. And she has designed and built more than 300 custom homes — which in a market with no history of construction permitting means she can tell you what's behind the walls of a cabin before you buy it.
Meet Your Broken Bow Short Term Rental Agent
Cathy Craig
Agent — Broken Bow and Hochatown, Oklahoma
220 short term rentals sold · $155M in closed volume · 300+ custom homes designed and built · 40 rental properties owned (8 short term, 5 mid term, 27 long term) · Licensed since 2008 · Oklahoma's top-producing agent
Cathy Craig has sold 220 short term rentals in Broken Bow and Hochatown, totaling $155 million. That alone would make her the most experienced STR agent in the market. It isn't the most useful thing about her.
Cathy has designed and built more than 300 custom homes. Broken Bow spent its boom years with essentially no construction permitting — cabins went up fast, build quality was left entirely to the builder, and almost everything in the area runs on septic. Most buyers have no way to evaluate what they're actually purchasing. Cathy has been on the other side of that process 300 times. She knows which builders cut corners, what a bad septic install looks like, and which cosmetic finishes are hiding structural shortcuts.
She also owns 40 rental properties — eight short term rentals here in Broken Bow, five mid term, and 27 long term. She has held property through the 2021–2022 frenzy, the correction that followed, and the current market. When she tells you what a cabin will earn in January, she is describing her own occupancy reports.
Licensed since 2008 and Oklahoma's top-producing real estate agent, Cathy works with investors rather than second-home shoppers, and she is direct about which properties won't perform.
The Broken Bow Short Term Rental Market
Broken Bow and Hochatown sit in southeastern Oklahoma alongside Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend State Park — pine forest, water, and hiking about three hours from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. That drive time is the entire economic engine of this market. Broken Bow does not depend on flights, and it grows as North Texas grows.
What Investors Need to Know
- Top-performing cabins earn $75,000–$150,000+ annually. Design, amenities, and management quality separate the top of the market from the middle by a wide margin.
- Demand is weekend-weighted but stronger midweek than most rural markets. Weekend occupancy commonly runs 80–90%, and well-positioned smaller cabins hold high occupancy even in January.
- Prices have come down from their 2021–2022 peak while occupancy and demand have held. Emotional buyers from the frenzy have largely exited, which has made this a more patient buyer's market than it was three years ago.
- Hochatown incorporated as a city in 2022. Short term rental licensing is now required, and the regulatory picture has changed meaningfully since the boom years. Verify current requirements before purchasing.
- Build quality varies enormously. The absence of construction permitting during the boom means two cabins at the same price point can be very different assets. This is the single most expensive thing to get wrong here.
On the Saturation Question
You will hear that Broken Bow is oversaturated. A lot of cabins were built during the boom, and that's real. But saturation is a statement about occupancy, not about inventory count — and occupancy in this market has held. As North Texas grows, so does the pool of people who can reach Broken Bow in a three-hour drive.
What has changed is that buying carelessly no longer works. In 2021 almost anything performed. Now the property has to be right: the right build, the right location, the right guest experience, without overspending on amenities that don't return. That's a harder market for casual buyers and a better one for investors who know what they're doing.
What to Watch Out For
The most common expensive mistakes here are buying a poorly built cabin that looks good in photos, over-investing in novelty amenities that don't move revenue, and underwriting on peak-year projections rather than current trailing performance. Ask for actual trailing twelve-month owner statements on comparable cabins — not AirDNA projections — before you make an offer.
Why The Short Term Shop for Broken Bow
The Short Term Shop is the largest real estate brokerage in the United States that works exclusively with short term rental investors. Founded by Avery Carl, the best-selling author of Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth and Smarter Short Term Rentals, the brokerage has served over 5,000 investors and closed more than $4 billion in short term rental transactions across more than 20 markets nationwide.
When you work with Cathy in Broken Bow, you also get:
- Short Term Shop Plus — the top short term rental education company in the business, included for clients
- Team depth — 75+ agents, transaction coordinators, and a compliance team backing every transaction
- Revenue data — actual short term rental income data and comps for Broken Bow cabins, not just MLS purchase price comparisons
- Financing connections — The Mortgage Shop specializes in investment property loans and can use projected short term rental income to help you qualify
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best realtor for buying an Airbnb in Broken Bow?
Cathy Craig at The Short Term Shop. She has sold 220 short term rentals in Broken Bow and Hochatown totaling $155 million, owns 40 rental properties including eight short term rentals in this market, and has designed and built more than 300 custom homes. She has been licensed since 2008 and is Oklahoma's top-producing real estate agent.
How much can a Broken Bow cabin make on Airbnb?
Top-performing cabins with modern amenities and strong design average $75,000 to $150,000+ in annual revenue. The range is wide because design, location, and management quality matter enormously here. Cathy can run trailing performance data on specific properties rather than projections.
Is Broken Bow oversaturated?
Inventory grew significantly during the 2021–2022 boom, but occupancy has held — weekends commonly run 80–90%, and the market continues to grow alongside the North Texas population that drives it. What has changed is that buying carelessly no longer works. The property has to be right, which makes agent selection more important than it was three years ago.
Do I need a permit for a short term rental in Broken Bow or Hochatown?
Hochatown incorporated as a city in 2022 and now requires short term rental licensing. Requirements in the surrounding area differ. Because the regulatory picture here has changed substantially since the boom years, verify current requirements for the specific property location before purchasing — Cathy can walk you through what applies where.
Why does construction quality matter so much in Broken Bow?
Broken Bow spent its boom years with essentially no construction permitting. Cabins were built quickly, quality was left to the builder, and nearly everything runs on septic. Two cabins at the same price can be very different assets, and the differences are usually not visible in listing photos. Cathy has designed and built more than 300 custom homes, which is why she can assess this before you're under contract rather than after.
Can I buy a Broken Bow short term rental from out of state?
Yes. Most Short Term Shop clients live out of state, and a large share of Broken Bow guests come from the Dallas–Fort Worth area rather than locally. Cathy guides remote investors through the full process — identifying properties, analyzing revenue data, coordinating inspections, and closing — and every client receives our remote self-management training.
How do I get started?
Contact The Short Term Shop through the website and mention Broken Bow. You'll be connected with Cathy Craig. There's no obligation — she can walk you through current market conditions and whether Broken Bow fits your investment goals.
Ready to invest in a Broken Bow short term rental?
Contact The Short Term Shop to connect with Cathy Craig today.
Last Updated: August 2026