10 Things You MUST know about the Rental Market!

So you’ve got a problem… Maybe you have a job offer that is making you move out of state. Maybe you’re getting married or combining households. Maybe you want to simply take advantage of record low home prices to purchase a new home. Either way, taking care of two homes let alone two monthly payments is too much to handle.

So the BIG QUESTION is what do you do with a home that you can’t sell, can’t walk away from, and seems to be overtaking your every thought…

Rent it!

●    Nationwide, rents are expected to rise about 4% this year, and will also rise in 2012. Strong demand is driving rents up as homeowners lose homes to foreclosure and become renters. Skittish consumers are also delaying home purchases, given concerns about the economy.
●    Nationwide, the homeownership rate dipped last year to 65.4% from 65.9% the year before. The rate has been declining since 2006 when it was at 67.3%, this Census survey shows. Rental Demand is Growing!!!
●    The renter household market was fairly stable from 1990 to 2006. But since 2006, when housing prices peaked, the number of renter households in the U.S. has grown each year. Last year, the share of occupied housing units that were rented increased to 34.6% from 34.1%, the Census data show.
●    Michigan remains among the 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates. At one foreclosure filing for every 349 homes, the state has the sixth highest foreclosure rate in the nation. Michigan has the third highest total of foreclosure filings. Combined with California, Florida, Illinois and Georgia, the five states account for more than half of all foreclosure filings in the country.
●    While the demand for affordable rental housing is greater than ever, a national report also finds that the supply has been shrinking. Less Housing Supply and greater Demand is great for you!

Renting: It's A Landlord's Market!!!

●    Now that the recession is easing, many of these young people are ready to find new digs, mostly as renters, not owners. Plus, the foreclosure crisis continues unabated, and the millions losing their homes are looking for new places to live.
●    Apartment developers many not be able to keep up with this heightened demand, which will force prices upwards, according to Chris Macke, a real estate analyst with CoStar, which tracks multi-family housing trends.
●    There's been a shift in the American Dream. We're learning from our surveys that a huge proportion of people are choosing to rent.
●    They've experienced the downsides of homeownership -- or seen friends and family suffer -- and don't want to take the risks or pay the higher costs of homeownership.
●     Strong demand is driving rents up as homeowners lose homes to foreclosure and become renters.

Access Property Management Group is a licensed West Michigan professional property management company specializing in rental homes and property management services. Many of our clients were in many of these same situations and, with our professional assistance, have successfully rented and managed their homes time and time again. Some of our clients live locally, others out of state, and many even out of the country! Either way, they all receive their rental disbursements the same time month after month with our direct deposit system. Take a look and see why we’re proud to be West Michigan’s #1 property management firm! Contact us today for more information!