Now is an excellent time to consider buying a home. Why? Because rent is higher than it’s been since the 2007 financial crisis. Average rent has hit $1,180 — an increase from last year’s $1,125 average.

Over the past six years, rents have continued to rise due to a low supply of apartments for the middle-class mixed with strict lending standards. And the recession didn’t affect apartments like it did home real estate; rent was hardly affected, while home prices plummeted.

And there’s a catch 22 to high rent: it’s now more difficult for younger generations to save for down payments, keeping them in rent-paying situations for even longer. The number of first-time buyers is lower now than it has been in the past thirty years (according to the National Association of Realtors).

Lastly, high rents are shifting real estate markets by forcing renters to move to older buildings and neighborhoods in order to continue affording their cost of living. This means that older real estate markets are seeing some new action while newer markets are starting to cool.

However, analysts report that the apartment market may be peaking soon with a vacancy rate slightly dropping. Either way, it may be time to contact your local Realtor about buying a home with a more affordable mortgage payment plan rather than continuing to pay climbing rent rates.

Article Citation: Kusisto, Laura. (January 7, 2016.) “U.S. apartment rents leap at fastest pace since crisis.” Realtor.com. Retrieved February 18, 2016 from: http://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/u-s-apartment-rents-leap-at-fastest-pace-since-crisis/.
Picture Citation: http://blog.charlestonpc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/a53.jpg