All of the media’s gloom and doom talk about the housing market has had a surprisingly effect on the price of Florida real estate: the cost of housing is decreasing as former homeowners turn to rental properties and consequently transform rentals into a less cost-efficient choice as rent rises in response to increased demand.
Maya Brennan, a research associate for the Center for Housing Policy says that the increased number of foreclosures in Florida is responsible for pushing homeowners into the rental market. Rental properties all over the nation are seeing similar effects. “Overall,” Brennan says, “it looks like rents have been on a slight increase.”
The data comes from a report on new and existing home prices created by the Center of Housing Policy. The report used information gleaned from the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors statistics.
Even California is affected; in Oakland, Modesto, Stockton, Salinas, and Merced, Calif. alone, it required about 47% to 54% less income to afford a home in 2008 than it did in 2007, which opens up a lot of possibilities for new homebuyers just beginning their home search.
