22 January 2009
Where do they all go?
When we bought our 4-plex a few months ago, we didn’t have any concerns that we would be able to get it rented out. Now that has become a concern. Unfortunately we have a limited amount of money, and for every month that the building sits empty, we have expenses such as mortgage and utilities. Since we listed the property right before the holidays, we weren’t expecting much of a response right away, but now that a month has passed, we were hoping for a little something. We didn’t know if we should blame the management company, and if we should start doing some of our own advertising. Talking with our property manager, it sounds like they are doing above what they would normally do, thanks to the current market situation. What I guess I don’t understand is, doesn’t everyone have to live somewhere, regardless of the market? I thought that dwindling loan availability would make the rental market boom.
I recently read an article here that indicates that the rental market is directly tied to the the employment rate. Hmmm… so when unemployment goes up, apartment rentals go down. I guess my only question is, where do the people go when they lose their jobs? Their parents’ houses? The streets?
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2 Comments currently posted.
Chris Sumpter says:
Chameleon says:
Rental prices spun out of control here in MA about 10 years ago. In 1998, a college grad working a 40 hour a week minimum wage job could afford a 1 BR apartment alone. By 2001, that was impossible. My rent went from $575 a month in 1999 to $800 a month in 2000 to $1150 a month in 2003. When that happens, people bunk in with roommates, sleep on friends’ couches, go to homeless shelters for as long as they’re allowed, make the rounds of friends’ and family’s living room floors, sleep in their cars, sleep at the office – at one point, we were putting up two other families. I had to let my ex move back in because neither of us could afford an apartment on our own. The current situation has been building for a very long time for a very large chunk of the country.
That is an intriguing correllation. Let me know if you discover the connection.