National: 2019 Renter Outlook

Lee

March 2019

As a follow-up and piggyback to last month’s article where 2018 rents flattened for the most part, a new report provides a contrarian outlook for what we may expect this year in the world of property renting and investing.  This report is based on sales prices.  Much of the country technically has a shortage of “affordable” options and home buying is simply out of reach for a large segment of the population.  According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ “Home Affordability Report”, “the US median home price in the fourth quarter 2018 was at the least affordable level since Q3 2008.”  See the full article by Jessa Claeys here.  I think what they are geting at in the article is fewer buyers equals more renters (and therefore more rental demand).  So how does that play with rent values being flat over last year?  Hard to say without a well-functioning crystal ball, but econ 101 would have that inference as accurate.  I suppose we will have to wait and see how interest rates move this year to see if there is a boost in purchasing, but with the supply issues at hand, we may very well be in for a year quite different from 2018 in terms of rental pricing power.  To discuss Nasville area real estate investing or property management, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Omni, Realtors and Property Management.