As the housing market continues to decline, there is a clear upside for landlords and property managers.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported at the end of January that the nation's homeownership rate fell to 66% in the fourth quarter, continuing a seven-year drop from a fourth-quarter peak of 69.2% in 2004.
At the same time, U.S. home prices fell 1.3% in November from October and were 3.7% below 2010 levels, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index indicates.
The drop in the homeownership rate pushed the share of households who rent up, from 33.6 percent at the beginning of 2011 to 34.0 percent in the fourth quarter. The ratio of homes in the rental sector that were vacant fell, to 9.4 percent.
What does this mean for landlords and property managers? Bad news for homeownership means good news for landlord earnings. Economists are expecting:
Sources: USA Today | DSNews.com
