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Randy H
2008 Jan 20, 9:03am
Tracking your search target area yourself is something most everyone does. But you don't come close to capturing *everything* that way. I've been following Mill Valley/Corte Madera and surrounds for almost 3 years now. And I'm very serious about buying, despite the fact realtors love to say "you're not serious about buying" whenever someone balks at bubble prices. I love that, by the way. Sort of like "bawk bawk bawk, whaddya chicken??" Sure, I'll forfeit my family's future because some realtor taunted me.
Anyway, most people search actively for a couple, few months, then take a short break, then re-engage. During those gyrations, lots of MLS shenanigans slip through your personal "Excel" filter. And, even if you managed to capture every single listing you only have data relevant to the day you start, not historically useful data so you can spy trends and regressions.
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Given the record level of empty housing, rents seem to be falling in most parts of the country.
But my own rent went up for the first time in 5 years recently. Though it's still lower than it was when I first moved in during the dot-com bubble. I got a good rent reduction after the crash.
Rents should respond basically to employment and salary levels, but I don't see employment or salaries improving much around me in the SF Bay Area.
Any idea what's going on? Sometimes I suspect that the press writes about rising rent, and then landlords actually do raise it just because they think they can.
Patrick
#housing