Oh geez, rental homes becoming more scarce

mike2

Yet dupree+scott says unless prices go up 10-15% this year, it's still better to rent.

Honestly, I'm not seeing that prices are much higher than the last time I signed a SFH lease in 2002. But the quality of the rental houses that are available has gone up quite a bit. Back then, you'd never find a brand new place with granite counters and hardwood floors for $1600/month. In 02, you'd be lucky to find a recent remodel at under $1/sq ft.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/313 ... als01.html

sniglet

Ironically, rising rents are actually a signal that the bottom is about to fall out of the real-estate market. In a pattern we've seen played out throughout the country, rents start rising by demand growth as increasing numbers of people decide they just won't pay the attrociously inflated real-estate prices. Simultaneously, such detoriarating markets also experience a squeeze in supply as landlords scramble to cash in on the boom, and take rentals off the market (e.g. the miraculous condo conversion).

However, the uptick in rental rates has proven to be short-lived, where it occurs, as properties come back on the market due to a lack of buyers. Just look at all the condos, and properties, sneaking back onto the rental market in places like San Diego, Orange County, and Las Vegas.

The rising rents in Seattle just provides further evidence we are following the rest of the country down the same well-trod path.