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Houston Rentals: The Market is HOT and Renters with COLD Feet Lose Out!


If you find the perfect rental (or even the "good enough") apartment or home to lease in Houston, don’t wait -- grab it now! Why? Because Houston rentals are hot – so hot that if you vacillate for even a day, you may lose out.

 

Yes, we may be a bit biased, but the facts do speak for themselves: The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) reported September 20 on August home sales and rental figures, stating that "[h]igh demand for lease properties persisted throughout the Houston market in the month of August. Single-family home rentals jumped 21.8 percent compared to one year earlier and year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals rose 23.1 percent."

 

Townhome and condo rentals also increased 23.1 percent in August, HAR reported.

 

Good Things Come to Those That Don't Wait

We’ve seen it far too often: a potential tenant comes to our Houston leasing office, tours an apartment unit, home or condo rental, decides to look around some more or delays getting us the needed leasing paperwork, and the rental is gone in just a matter of days (sometimes hours).

 

This situation is only going to get worse for those looking for a rental property.

 

The HAR states that home sales also surged in August:

 

Single-family home sales shot up more than 30 percent when compared to August of last year. However, as has been the case for the past several months, the rosy performance took on added luster as a result of last year's third quarter slowdown in home sales following expiration of the 2010 tax credit. That credit pushed local real estate transactions that otherwise might have taken place later in the year into the first two quarters of 2010. August marked the third consecutive month of increased sales and the fourth time in 2011 that sales volume entered positive territory.

 

How does this affect the rental market? The fewer homes there are to buy, the more newcomers will look to renting, thus creating more competition for a dwindling rental market.

 

The Realtor association credits the growth in home sales as well as the increased interest in Houston rental properties to "steady improvement in local employment numbers, with REALTORS® observing a surge in consumers relocating to Houston from around the U.S."

 

The surge in renters also could be attributed to the fact that many people no longer believe in the "American Dream": the one that said housing prices always will go up. After the massive housing downturn in the past few years, a growing number of people now may think that renting is by far the wisest thing to do.

 

In addition, getting a home loan is much harder now. Banks and mortgage lenders have become quite strict in the requirements a potential home buyer must fulfill before being approved for a loan. Many people who would like to purchase a home now simply can't.

 

Couple that with the fact that many former homeowners who lost their property to foreclosure need to lease a home, and the number of potential renters just increases.

 

As reported in the Houston Chronicle in September, "[m]ore people wanting to rent than to buy means more potential renters vying for an increasingly smaller rental pool."

 

The blog Texas Apartment News in August reported that "[b]etween early 2006 and late 2010, the renter pool in the United States increased by more than 10 percent, at a faster pace than household formation or rental supply."

 

The Houston Real Estate Journal reported in May that experts figured rental prices in Houston would rise 4.4 percent in 2011.

 

What Does All of This Mean for You, a Potential Tenant of a Houston Rental Property?

If you find an apartment or condo/home that appeals to you, that fits your family’s needs and budget, don’t delay, rent it!

 

Inventory is being taken up quickly and even more quickly than it has in the past couple of years.

 

Some tips to help you land the Houston rental properties you seek:

 

  • Know your budget going in. Don’t make the mistake of "looking for what’s out there" and then falling in love with a home or apartment/condo that’s far outside of your budget. Instead, have a number over which you won’t go – and then don’t go over that number! There’s little worse than being "apartment rich and cash poor."
  • Have all the information that you’ll need to complete the leasing form at your fingertips. Put this information together before you have to fill out the application. Make sure you have names, an address and phone numbers of former landlords, know your employer’s address and number and have the names of references handy and ready to write on the form. Don’t make the mistake of having to take the form home to get more information – you can lose out on the rental that way!

 

In the Loop Properties: Helping You Find Your Dream Rental

If you’re looking for apartment, single-family home or townhome in the Houston area, contact In the Loop Properties at 713-521-RENT (7368) or info@intheloopproperties.com. We have rental opportunities that will fit all housing needs and budgets. We look forward to hearing from you…soon!