Slowing housing market affecting apartments

It seems like not another day passes that does not bring news of the cooling housing market. Everyday, newspapers, magazines and blogs are filled with various rants on the slowing market.

Obviously it is in the news for a reason. Not only is it extremely pertinent – after all everyone needs a roof over their head, but it also affects many other markets and sectors of our economy.

We are slowly seeing that the depressed housing market is wrecking havoc on the job industry, by slowly depleting jobs in the construction and finance industries.

Now, new figures are showing the effects of the slowing housing market on the apartment market. Basically, it all boils down to good news for landlords, bad news for renters.

An August 2, 2006 article by Selena Maranjian of fool.com, “Tips for apartment hunters,” gives some good advice to renters looking to find a dwelling in this now saturated market.

“If you live in rented apartments, as I did for a long time, you may find yourself annoyed whenever apartment hunting time rolls around. It's hard, after all, to find a place that's reasonably priced, clean, in a decent neighborhood, and that also meets all your other criteria.”

“According to the folks at Apartmentratings.com (a site where you can review apartments and research rents), the process might not be getting much easier in the near future: ‘For the past six years, the booming housing market and low interest rates kept apartment vacancies high and depressed their prices. But as the housing market has cooled due to higher interest rates, the population of renters has grown. According to MP/F Yieldstar, average vacancy rates nationally have dropped 40% since 2003.’”

This all translates to the fact that the apartment market is now booming and the housing market is not. People are trying to get out of the residential housing market and into the rental market all at the same time.

People are now finding it is more expensive than ever to rent, and it is harder than ever to find a decent place. The first tip people should consider when looking to rent is to think about getting a roommate.

“Sure, it's not everyone's first choice, but you can save a lot of money -- perhaps enough for a down payment on a home of your own eventually. It might be worth doing for a few years, at least, while you stockpile some savings.”

There are a few other things renters can do during this time: “Rent from an individual landlord. They're more likely to value a good tenant and may keep rents reasonable in order to keep you around. Sign a long lease if you can. Some landlords will charge you less in rent if you agree to a multiple-year lease. Consider renting a condo. With the real estate market softening in many areas, there are condos available for rent that their owners couldn't sell.”

Also, consider renting during odd times in the month, meaning any time other than the beginning and end of a month. Many landlords will be desperate to rent at these times and more open to negotiations.

“If you have really soured on apartments (and even if you haven't), consider buying a home.”

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