In Southern California, detached, single family rentals increased 29% over the last decade, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
Could it be true? Could owning a rental property be the new American -or at least Southern California- Dream?
Making sense of this story by the Orange County Register:
– The tally jumped to 736,400 rental houses in 2016, equal to one out of every four houses in the region. The increase matches trends elsewhere.
– California had a 27 percent gain to 1.8 million rental houses in the most recent decade. Across the nation, detached, single-family rentals jumped 30 percent to 12.5 million in 2016.
– Renters are moving into houses for space, for schools or for privacy, a recent survey by U.C. Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found.
– Landlords range from small investors to gigantic hedge funds but also include retirees hanging onto their old houses because they’re in high demand. We have represented both seasoned investors as well as ‘millenials’ and middle aged families, looking to invest in a property to lease out. In fact, some of the millenial clients we have had were leasing a small place for themselves, while owning a rental property on the side as an investment.
– The change could be contributing to a nationwide shortage of homes for sale. It also has numerous implications for family wealth and for policymakers, since there now are 7 million more renters in American than a decade ago, and nearly 414,000 more in Southern California.
– The Terner Center study found that while 80 percent of single-family tenants want to buy a home in the next five years, more than 90 percent have financial obstacles to buying.
– In Orange County, detached rental houses jumped 44 percent in the most recent decade, followed by an 18 percent increase in Los Angeles County.
– There is still a shortage of good rentals in Orange County, which has been driving up the rents in past years.
– Nearly 27 percent of single-family renters who had been homeowners had lost a home to foreclosure. Other factors include student and consumer debt, difficulties in qualifying for a mortgage, or not being able to save for a down payment.
Read the full story here online at the Orange County Register.
About Jaleesa Peluso, Laguna Beach Realtor & Certified International Property Specialist
Jaleesa and her team specialize in representing local as well as foreign buyers and sellers of Orange County real estate. Are you considering leasing, buying or selling your Orange County home? Call us now at (949)395-0960!