There is some good news and some bad news out there for landlords recently.
Let’s look at the good news first.
The rent is going up.
According to an article in USA Today
Rents will increase 3.1% nationally next year, about the same as this year, apartment market researcher Axiometrics says.
Meanwhile, researcher Reis sees rents rising an average of 3.3% in 2014.
Lots of folks are still looking to rent, while the supply of rental housing remains tight. Look for more multi-family construction in 2014.
On the bad side, some tenants may not be able to pay these increased rents. A recent study by Harvard University notes that:
the number of renters paying more than 30 percent of income for housing (the traditional measure of affordability)reached another high in 2012. Excessive housing costs strained the budgets of more than half of all renters, or 21.1 million households—a slight increase from the year before.
Lots of factors come into play here. But look for a continued squeeze on renters in 2014.
There is no doubt a huge supply of rental homes due to institutional buyers all over the country. Seems with extra supply that would keep rents in place.