TAMPA – Feb. 18, 2015 – Rent prices continue to surge like a red tide in the Tampa Bay area – something few welcome. And while many home prices are more affordable than rent right now, people aren’t lining up to buy.
Florida’s housing crash during the recession forced out hundreds of homeowners and is still keeping some out due to tightened loan restrictions. Some suffered credit setbacks and are afraid to jump back in, experts say. Still others are steering clear of home buying out of fear of a future crash.
That means there are a lot more renters these days dealing with those rising monthly lease payments. A robust rental market means rents will continue to go up with the demand. Eventually, experts say, it will get to the point that the average consumer looking to rent won’t be able to afford a decent house in a decent neighborhood.
It’s not just happening here. Rent has gone up in all of the nation’s 11 largest cities, according to a New York University Furman Center study commissioned by Capital One and released in draft form this week. Rental costs have swelled faster than income for most.
Low-income renters in all 11 cities studied “were overwhelmingly rent burdened and became only more so” between 2006 and 2013, according to the NYU report. The study found that the growth in the rental stock in all of the cities was due to a shift in homes previously owner-occupied.
“There are a couple of other takeaways as well,” said Sean Capperis, one of the study’s authors. “With increased demand for renting in many cities and supply not keeping up, vacancy rates fall, rents rise and more struggle with the cost of housing.”
Of the 906 homes sold in Hillsborough County in November, 45 percent were purchased for either second homes or rental income. In Pinellas County, of 1,697 homes sold, 54 percent were purchased for second homes or investment, according to RealtyTrac, one of the nation’s leading sources for housing data.
A portion of the purchases most certainly is due to the flock of snowbirds that make their way to the Sunshine State each year and purchase second homes, said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. But most of it is due to what are known as institutional investors, he said. read more here
