Rental Market Overload

I agree that the unemployment rate and the fear factor associated with losing a job will continue to feed the rental market - the unemployment rate can not be ignored in the equation of a recovering real estate market.

A caveat to consider with this that I have been experiencing - there are qualified buyers who are unable to find a property that meets their requirements who say even though prices are good, they will only buy a property that they feel is a good investment due to location, condition, etc. - and meets their needs- the basics of real estate, and as a good buyer agent we should certainly promote that line of thinking. Inventory is shrinking - and sellers are still not confident that prices are appreciating to levels that allow them to move on, hence are not putting desirable properties on the market unless forced to in many cases.

With one in four mortgage holders being upside down in their mortgages(whether a buyer is in a position to deal with a short sale purchase is another issue entirely) and many sellers who refuse to deal with buyers who continue to put sellers backs up against the wall - there are limited choices in many cases for those who do qualify. As unbelievable as it sounds, I have qualified buyers who have actually talked about renting because a property that is suitable for them is not available and they are moving to the area and need housing - not buying just for the sake of buying - buyers agents have their jobs cut out for them when finding properties that work for their buyers in many circumstances.