Trend or coincidence
Does a week make a trend or is it simply coincidence.
I usually get an inquiry or two just about every day from buyers seeking additional information about Charleston homes for sale. Even though I'm not the listing agent for every home for sale on the Charleston MLS (darn), I can still help anyone by providing additional information and then help them with the purchase of the home as their buyers agent.
But in the last week, I had at least 7 inquiries about homes for rent while in the past I may have gotten 1 in a month at best. I don't handle property management and have no experience in rentals. I usually answer the question if I can and refer the person to one of several property management companies I know of.
So I was thinking, why are there so many rental inquiries right now. Are people thinking about renting because they can no longer qualify for a mortgage due to tighter lending qualifications or are people simply afraid to buy a home when the media is relentlessly negative on the housing industry. I think it could be a little bit of both.
I've bought homes and condos and I've rented apartments but never rented a house. There is a time and place for both. In my previous business career, I was asked to move a lot by my company. Because I was single at the time, I didn't need a big house and an apartment served my purposes. Plus if I was going to be asked to relocate again by my company, you can't just sell your home in a day. Generally, you need to live in a home for several years in order to at least break even on the transaction.
By the way, my website has a very nice mortgage calculator with a rent vs. buy analysis you can use to help determine which is the better choice for you to make.
What do you think, trend or coincidence?