Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Rent Price Hikes Are Getting Smaller

Renters may finally be getting some relief. Apartment rents are not increasing as much as they have in the last few years.
None of the major metro areas studied had seen annual rent growth of more than 10 percent. Rents rose 2.2 percent, on average, in the U.S. over the 12 months that ended in the third quarter, according to Yardi Matrix. That marks the slowest rate of increase in rental prices since April 2011.
“We don’t believe it’s time to turn out the lights on the expansion in the multifamily sector,” Yardi notes. “Job growth and social and demographic trends foretell strong demand for the next few years.”
The markets where rents increased the most quickly in 2016 have slowed down by the most in 2017, according to data from Axiometrics. Sacramento still has the strongest rent growth in the U.S., but apartment rents grew by 6.9 percent over the 12 months that ended in the third quarter of 2017. For comparison, a year ago rents rose by nearly 12 percent in that time frame.
Many of the markets that saw home prices plunge by the most during the housing crash are seeing some of the highest rent upticks still.
“Because of the oversupply of housing, some of the hottest markets in the last real estate cycle took the longest to recover,” says Jay Denton, senior vice president of Axiometrics.
Another former housing crash city—Las Vegas—saw the second fastest growth in apartment rents, in which rents increased by 5.8 percent over the 12 months that ended in the third quarter of 2017.
“Las Vegas had a longer, deeper downturn than the rest of the real estate market,” says Denton. “It is just a different place in its real estate cycle. Other markets have had a lot of construction.”
Other markets that saw rents grow quickly that were also considered former “crash cities,” included Orlando, Fla., which was number three on the list with average apartment growth at 4.8 percent; San Diego at number five with rent growth of 4.5 percent; and Jacksonville, Fla., at number six with a 4.4 percent rent growth.
SOURCE: DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS 

Any questions or comments, feel free to contact James Y. Kuang at (626) 371-5662 or by email: james.kuang@coldwellbanker.com 

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Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The ‘Bonus Room’ Makes a Comeback

Home builders and designers say demand is increasing for more flexible living spaces, giving rise once again to “bonus” or “multipurpose” rooms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Such rooms offer extra square footage for owners to create a space that fits their lifestyle. Baby boomers, for example, are showing interest in bonus rooms that could potentially serve as a first-floor master bedroom or suite.
Out of the 20 top-selling floor plans on Houseplans.com, 13 include bonus rooms, according to the site. However, only 14 percent of all plans the site offers contain such rooms. They are usually located off the entry hallway near the main living space and a bathroom. The location makes it easy to transform the space into an extra bedroom, if needed. Bonus rooms also may be located above the garage. Homeowners use these extra spaces for anything from an in-law suite to a home theater.
Some designers say real estate professionals shouldn’t label bonus rooms with a specific purpose when showing a home to their clients. Let buyers imagine for themselves how they'd use the room; this can also make the listing more appealing to them. “When you name it ‘dining room,’ they will always see it as a dining room; they will never get it out of their mind,” says Mark Mathis, co-owner of Hattiesburg, Miss.-based design firm House Plan Gallery. “We have found that labeling this type of area as ‘flex space’ on our floor plans best allows home buyers to decide how a particular space can be used to fit their specific family’s needs.”
SOURCE: DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS
Any questions or comments, feel free to contact James Y. Kuang at (626) 371-5662 or by email: james.kuang@coldwellbanker.com
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