HotPads.com just released its 2010 National Rental Housing Report (you can find the analysis and interactive graphs here).
Here is what HP saw in fiscal 2010 and expect to see in fiscal 2011:
– In 2010 Rental Prices increased by 11% and Home Prices dropped 9.8%.
– Rent-Buy Ratio dropped from 15.66 to 12.64, meaning conditions are improving in favor of buying.
– HP expects to see foreclosed and long standing for sale properties re-enter the market as rentals in 2011, should drive up supply and help ease rent prices.
January 6, 2011 – Rental prices across the US increased 11.6% in 2010, growing from a national average of $1181 in January 2010 to $1319 by December. The steady increase in rental prices was inversely matched by falling prices of homes for sale, which saw a 9.8% drop over the same period.
The rental price increase is a factor of uncertainty in the US economic climate, which has forced a transition from a home buying mentality to one more in favor of renting. The growing number of homes lost to foreclosure in 2010 expanded the number of people seeking to rent, creating a renter surplus.
Further, with the US unemployment rate over 9% throughout 2010 (up from 4% in 2006), low risk housing options became more desirable, a trend which may continue in the coming months.
At the same time, HotPads expects to see foreclosed and long standing for sale properties re-enter the market as rentals, which should expand the rental supply, thereby helping ease rent prices. This represents an interesting contrast to the peak of the housing market in 2006, when rental units were being converted into for-sale condos.
The 2010 national rental market data is calculated from a sample of one million concurrently active rental prices on HotPads. These are averages of each state’s monthly median rental price weighted by the number of listings in that state.
About HotPads.com
With over 500,000 active rental listings and 4 million homes for sale, HotPads.com is one of the largest national housing resources in the market today. HotPads.com is the premier map-based real estate search engine, delivering the most interactive and personal housing search experience online.
Leave a Reply