Thursday, June 09, 2005

Rental Prices up 4.6%

Finally some good news for rental property owners who have seen rents decline as potential renters became homeowners over the last 5 years. While the historic low interest rates made it possible for many to buy in the last few years, the huge increase in prices is once again shrinking the buyer pool. The home affordability index in Southern California is 18% which is extremely low. People now priced out of the market are once again renting thereby pushing up the demand for rental units.
The average rental in Los Angeles County rose to over $1400 a month. Buyers who can't afford to purchase or who are leery about buying in the current market are opting to rent instead. I expect to see some high priced rental properties become available as people would rather rent a one bedroom close to the beach at $2000 then buy inland for same amount of money.per month.

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