rental prices are rising too

I had some tenants move out of a property late last month and after I made a few repairs I put the house on the market for rent.  I can honestly say that I had no less than 80 calls to lease the property.  I did not think that I was asking too little or too much for the property, but I do like good tenants so I was fairly picky in making the selection of who to lease the property to. 

This morning I read an email about rental prices rising so I looked it up on the internet and a few articles stated that rental prices will rise 30%-40% in Los Angeles County over the next 4 years!  So we talked about the possibility of rental prices rising at lunch and we came to an interesting conclusion that rental prices are going to rise over the next few years.  

Rental prices are rising because homeownership is dwindling with younger families and the middle class.  The bad news for renters is that investors are buying up rental properties and leasing them out.  This is keeping prices of real estate higher and the investors are uiisually pretty savvy and they are doing what they can to increase rents whenever possible.  Also they are taking advantage of the foreclosure market knowing that many good people lost their homes and they can get more rent from people with credit issues. 

As a landlord, I love renters and as a lender I love buyers.  As a financial advisor I still think it is better for you to buy than it is to rent!  Especially with prices and interest rates as low as they are.  If you want to rent, or if you have to rent then try and get a longer term lease so you won't be affected by the increases that we know are coming.