patrick.net

Thanks to Ben Jones at the Housingbubbleblog for posting this delicious, glorious link.

Life is sweet for North Port renters
A massive supply of vacant homes in the city pushes rents downward and prompts owners to offer incentives

"...with hundreds of houses, condos and apartments for rent in North Port, not every owner has been able to find a tenant. So rents are plummeting, and so are rental standards.

"We're talking to people we would not have considered two years ago," said Linda Haese, who is trying to rent two new 1,800-square-foot houses. "These are people who don't have deposit money, but are willing to put $25 aside every month. As long as they don't have a criminal record, we're willing to say OK."

"Why should tenants renew their leases when they can rent a house for about the same price?" Black asked. "I am told that apartment occupancy is down to 80 percent."

Black explained that 80 percent to 85 percent is the break-even point for apartment owners. He said owners do not start kicking off serious profits until occupancy passes 90 percent.

...Everyone contacted by the Herald-Tribune acknowledged that rents are plunging.

"Rents are coming way down because of supply," said Karen St. Pierre, a rental specialist with ERA Advantage Realty. "A 1,800-square-foot house without a pool that rented for $1,400 a year and a half ago is now renting from $900 to $1,000 a month."

That represents a 36 percent drop and has created a wave of resentment among investors, who have seen their taxes and insurance bills move rapidly in the opposite direction.

"Some owners are going crazy," said Noone of Sun Coast Real Estate. "They say they need the higher rent or they'll go bankrupt."

...Haese said she is not making money at that level, and she would like to sell, but the market is glutted with houses for sale.

"I think it will be five or six years before I can get out," she said.

But for people looking to rent houses in North Port, the situation could not be better.

They are being offered new houses with swimming pools at ridiculously low prices.

"It makes much more sense to rent than to buy right now," said Black the Port Charlotte appraiser. "A renter will pay 60 percent of what it costs to own."

Game, set, match.

Marin & the Bay Area "Fortress" aside, could this be a preview of coming attractions for long-suffering JBRs in Kalifornia? Or is the Flipper State completely immune to the laws of supply and demand, as the REIC Koolaid crowd continues to insist?

Quite a change from just a year ago, no?
Reflexivity's a real bitch. And she has a sister named "deleverage" who's even nastier.

Discuss, enjoy...
HARM

#housing