According to research conducted by Zelman & Assoc., single family detached houses comprise approximately 28% of all rental housing in the US today. Condos and townhomes represent another 6% of the rental housing market. Whether a tenant will choose to live in an apartment or a rental house has more to do with their age and lifestyle than any other factors. Young singles are much more likely to rent apartments. As they get married and have children they are much more likely to rent a house. And toward their later years, as they enter their retirement years, renters are more likely to live in multi-family housing again. Most single family renters are moving from other single family housing and will move on to other single family housing – 58% as renters and 15% move out to buy a home these days. Approximately 31% of tenants renting houses today have been homeowners that lost their home to foreclosure. Conclusion – landlords need to be open to renting to victims of foreclosure since they represent such a large segment of the market. Of course you still want to conduct a thorough background check. But don’t let the fact that your applicant has been thru a foreclosure automatically rule them out as your new resident.
Blog Written By: Mike Nelson, President/Broker, Excalibur Home Management, LLC and Excalibur Realty, LLC
