808 Sealy Ave presents a rare short-term and mid-term rental conversion play built on genuine 2023 vintage construction, in a Galveston submarket where almost no new product has been delivered. The asset comprises eight identical one-bedroom/one-bathroom units of approximately 500 SF in a single 4,000 SF, two-story building, located two blocks from the East End Historic District and a short walk from The Strand.
The conversion opportunity is immediate. Seven of the eight units are free to reposition today: three sit vacant, two leases are month-to-month, and two carry no end date. Only one unit is committed beyond the present, through December 2026. A buyer does not need to wait out a rent roll to execute a short-term or mid-term strategy; the units simply need to be furnished.
Every unit is already built to a furnished-rental specification, with in-unit washer/dryer, stainless appliances, granite counters, dishwasher, double-pane windows, and a sprinkler system, three years before any conversion capital would be spent.
Modeled strategies show a clear path to outsized returns relative to conventional leasing:
Long-term lease (status quo): approximately $48,600 stabilized NOI, no capital required, capped by submarket rents already near ceiling.
Short-term rental (full furnish and list): stabilized NOI ranging from roughly $27,400 at conservative occupancy up to $126,000 at stronger performance assumptions, on approximately $108,000 of furnishing and listing capital.
Mid-term furnished (30+ day stays): approximately $74,800 stabilized NOI on just $64,000 of capital, capturing roughly two-thirds of the short-term upside for 60% of the investment, while avoiding hotel occupancy tax and STR licensing obligations altogether.
Demand fundamentals support the furnished-rental thesis directly. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), 1.1 miles away, is the island's largest employer and a continuous source of 13-week traveling clinician contracts, a natural fit for mid-term furnished housing. Simultaneously, the Port of Galveston, The Strand, Moody Gardens, and the Pleasure Pier sustain year-round visitor demand for small-format furnished stays. Zero competing units are currently under construction in the submarket, and nearby short-term comparables (including a seven-unit property grossing over $122,000 in 2025 on older, unfurnished-spec product) confirm the demand exists even without new construction behind it.
Parking includes 10 covered spaces. 2025 property taxes were $21,413; current insurance (including TWIA windstorm and flood coverage) totals $21,119. Prospective buyers should independently verify zoning, STR licensing eligibility, and achievable nightly rates as part of underwriting.
Full due diligence materials, including rent roll, operating statements, insurance certificates, and the underlying conversion model, are available upon request.