Do you agree with this statement? - (Real Estate question)

[Breeze54]

"It's now a renters market." I just had a landlord tell me that and I'm wondering if it's true.

He went on to say that due to the problems in the Real Estate market; that people are opting

to rent out properties now and so he thinks it's all in a renter's favor now. He seems to think

there's now a glut of apts available to rent and people are lowering the prices. What do you think?

I did see one apt/condo for rent today on Craig's List and the usual rent was $1795.00 a month and

they dropped the price to $1400.00! http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/abo/493080824.html

I'm wondering if it's the market or the price of fuel. :shrug:

[jmm]

1. Maybe it's a renter's market if

you're looking at 2 bedroom apartments in the $1400-$1795 prince range but not for most people. When I resigned my lease in Sept. while talking to my landlord he said that a high school teacher had almost moved into the building but she failed her credit check so he lowered the rent by $25 or $50 a month to attract another person. I do think because of the large number of complexes like the one in the Craig's list ad or some of the higher end ones it's a renter's market for people who don't have to worry about credit checks and living paycheck to paycheck but not for people looking for a bargain.

Also I think that even though the prices of homes may be going down many can't get the loans to buy them which is forcing them to rent.

[Breeze54]

3. No, that apt. is high end. I just happened to see the listing.

And the price cut but I'm seeing a lot of places for rent with lower prices than usual.

And a lot more For Rent signs.

[BlueManDude]

2. If you're secure financially, have good credit...

and think your income is going to hold steady or grow - now is a good time to buy.

I would think that rents would be higher now because of the fear of bad morts/foreclosure?

[Breeze54]

4. I'm not in the

market to buy. Rents seems to be about the same and in some cases are lower.
It's either due to the price of heating fuel or some other reason.

[SteveC]

5. The Landlord game aka Monopoly

There have always been shrewd sellers and shrewd buyers, so gross generalizations like "it is a xxx market" tend to not be true anyway. As Reagan joked, "It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job, it's a depression when you lose your job."

The economic "forecast" is always based on pre-conceived expectations. If I (as a buyer) pay less than what I expected, then it is a buyers market. If I (as a seller) can get the price I wanted, then it is a sellers market, at least in mid respective mind. Reality is only what you believe, regardless of if it is true or not. :-)

The language of "expectations" masks what is really going on both politically and economically.

If everybody is broke, then nobody can afford to buy. That doesn't mean that the prices will drop. Like the game Monopoly, the board is full of houses and hotels that the players can no longer afford to buy. Even those who own the hotels and houses go bankrupt in the game, so focusing on small price fluctuations really misses the big picture.

In Monopoly, everybody loses eventually. That is what is most important to observe.
Monopoly was originally called The Landlord Game, and is based on the economic theories of Henry George.
The ideas of Henry George should be commonsense, but unfortunately they are not. (Henry George made som errors, too, but it impossible to get into those without knowing what he said originally.)

So not only do I not agree with the statement, I also think it is the wrong question.