Big City, Big Rent? Think Again

Hi Folks,
   Glad to have you back today!

   Quite often, we hear people say that the Rent is too high (we even heard a potential political candidate run on that platform a while back!). Well, yes, Rent can be quite high, but as everything else in life, it's all relative.

   Venessa Wong for Bloomberg Businessweek ran an article titled, "The 10 Worst Cities for Renters", which ran in the Yahoo Real Estate Section, which took a look at how "much" is rent, relatively speaking. In the article, Wong states that over the past few decades, "...rent levels grew faster than renter income.", and that the amount of income, "apportioned to rent" has grown dramatically over the past fifty years. Wong cites research by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, which shows that, "In 1960, about one-quarter of renters in the U.S. were at least moderately burdened, including 12 percent with a severe burden", and by 2009. the rate doubled to nearly half of renters with at least a moderate burden, including 26 percent with a severe burden.".What this means, as stated in the article, is that nearly half of renters pay more than 30 percent of their monthly income for rent, including 26 percent that pay more than 50 percent of income.

   Taking this data into account, which are the worst cities for Renters? Wong states that it’s not necessarily the most expensive cities that are to blame (and as you will see, not the biggest cities, either).

   Here is the list of the top 10 metropolitan areas ("toughest U.S. cities for renters"), ranked by the percentage of tenants spending more than half of their income on rent, per the article:

No. 10 Metro: Bridgeport, Conn. - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 30.5%
No. 9 Metro: Toledo, Ohio - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 30.8%
No. 8 Metro: Orlando - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 30.9%
No. 7 Metro: Memphis - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 31.6%
No. 6 Metro: Akron, Ohio - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 31.8%
No. 5 Metro: New Orleans - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 31.8%
No. 4 Metro: New Haven - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 32.7%
No. 3 Metro: Detroit - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 32.8%
No. 2 Metro: McAllen, Tex. - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 33.1%
No. 1 Metro: Miami - Renter households with severe cost burdens: 34.2%

   A quick glance at this list might make you wonder: What about New York City? Los Angeles? Chicago? This might change your perception; as the title suggests, "Big City, Big Rent? Think Again". The forecast in the article mentions that, "increases in rent levels are expected to continue outpacing income growth. Demand for rentals also may continue to grow as the preference for homeownership changes."

   What are your thoughts? Have you calculated rent as a percent of monthly income in your area? What was the percentage and what area did you calculate it for?

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

TAGS: #rent #realestate #miami #renter

Update on Home Prices

Good Morning,

   Welcome back, as we're half way through the week.

   Two of the leading Home Price Indices were released yesterday; the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and the FHFA Monthly House Price Index.

   The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index came in with, "nine markets – Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Portland (OR), Seattle and Tampa" at their, "lowest levels since home prices peaked in 2006 and 2007". Similarly, The FHFA Monthly House Price Index, came back with a 4.3 percent drop in U.S. prices, "For the 12 months ending in November".

   These numbers show us that there is still a long way to go.

   Double-dip in Home prices? Do you agree?


Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

Two Points: Selling An REO Property and Home Prices Dropping

Hi Folks,


   Hope you're having a peaceful week. 2011 is just a few days away. Doesn't 2011 sound like such a futuristic year?

   Well, today, I would like to share a post that was written by Bob Corcoran, titled, "Five Tips to Sell REO Properties Faster", and the reason that I am sharing this with you is that this post goes hand-in-hand with my post of November 26th, which is titled, "Post-Foreclosure REO Property Maintenance". Corcoran's post looks at how to prepare an REO for sale from a Realtors point of view, but is also applicable to investors or any other parties.

   Corcoran says that, "The house needs to look just like any other house on the market in the neighborhood.", and he points out his 5 tips as follows:

1. Be a cleaner: Corcoran emphasizes that you, "have to be willing to do what it takes to get the house sold."

2. Think colors: Corcoran states that, "Red says to stop and yellow adds a warmth and coziness."

3. Add smells: "If it smells like bad, it doesn’t matter what it looks like.", says Corcoran, who suggests using air fresheners and a fresh pot of coffee. He says that, "The smell of coffee imparts the best of emotions. It tells people this is a good place to raise kids, it gives a warm and a comforting feeling."

4. Put up signs: Corcoran says that when you're marketing an REO property, "you need to make sure that it’s depersonalized and use cue cards – white piece of paper on the wall – that explain to prospective buyers the positives on what’s been done to the property."

5. Communicate often and regularly: This tip refers to the relationship between the bank and the Realtor, and Corcoran advises that, "When banks assign the Realtor to a property, it expects them to become the eyes and ears for everything that has to do with that property."

   These are some fantastic tips, and are of great use to the entire Real Estate community.

   Now, on to Part 2 of this post: The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released yesterday, and as per the report, "Six markets – Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Portland (OR), Seattle and Tampa – hit their lowest levels since home prices started to fall in 2006 and 2007". Bright Side? It looks like the major cities in California bounced back. Do you live in California? If so, this might make you happy?

   Thanks for hearing me out! Comments? Questions? Suggestions? You have tons of options for feedback here.

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

TAGS: #reo #foreclosure #realtor #realestate

Revisiting the Rent vs. Buy Debate

Hi All,
   Happy Columbus Day to you. For those of you who have the day off, congratulations. For those of us working, well, we have to work today!

   Back in June, we covered the much-debated topic of "Rent vs. Buy", and Trulia has released their Rent vs. Buy Index. As Blake Ellis, a staff reporter with CNN Money notes in his article, "Where to buy and where to rent", Trulia is using the following rule to make the Rent vs. Buy determination: If the home price is 15 times higher than the annual rent for a similar property, it is better to rent.

In terms of which cities were mentioned, Ellis cites Trulia's index as follows:

Where to Buy a Home:
Miami, Detroit, Jacksonville, Arlington, Columbus (OH), and Nashville

Where to Rent a Home:
New York, Seattle, Fort Worth, Omaha, Kansas City, and San Diego.

   How do you think Rent to Own fits into the picture? The funny thing is that it could apply to any of these cities, since it is often situation-specific instead of market-specific. Do you Agree? Disagree? Please let us know.

   Do you have any additional recommendations for any other cities not mentioned here? Let us know, as there might be an buyer, renter, realtor, or investor reading this, and we all like to share and help each other.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

US Cities, Secrets of Rent to Own, and Joy

Happy Monday to All,

We hope you had a productive weekend.

First, we would like to thank all of the winners of the Free Copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own", and we hope you enjoy reading it and putting what you learn into action! For those of you who missed out, you can check out this handy guide, "Secrets of Rent to Own", at this link: http://www.lease2buy.com/rent2ownbook.php

If you would like to be included for a personal Pre-Blog notification of further contests and give-aways, please send an E-mail to homebuyer@lease2buy.com with the Subject Line, "This Blog-Reader wants in !"

On the flip side, we saw an interesting article worth mentioning, that discussed U.S. Cities In Free Fall, and I, personally, was amazed to see only Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville in the top 5. Orlando/Central FL was not in the top 5, and I found this actually encouraging. I don't know - I am open to your comments on this one. No matter what they say, there are deals to be had, and in some of these areas, there are pockets of recovery - again, I am open to comments on that as well.

On that note, I hope everyone has a great week. Be sure to choose "FOLLOW" us (Right Hand Column of this page) to be notified of new Blog updates, new contests, new information (and all around joy...OK, well, LOL on the "joy" part).

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning