Demand Spikes for Rentals in San Carlos, Peninsula.

July 26, 2011

rent

Rental Homes in High Demand.

In the past month, it seems as if there hasn't been a day that has gone by where I haven't seen a flock of emails in my inbox from agents or clients urgently looking for homes — not to buy, but to rent.  And not just  in San Carlos, but up and down the Peninsula.  Everything from 2-bedroom houses all the way up to executive homes, rental homes are at a premium right now.    That's good news if you're a landlord, but a bit daunting if you're one of those people just trying to get a roof over your head.

Unlike home sales, tracking the metrics on rental properties is difficult at best.  That's because the vast majority of rental agreements take place directly between the landlord and the tenant, bypassing Realtors and the multiple listing service (MLS).  And this makes sense, because I don't believe Realtors add much value to the process of renting a property unless you need help with managing the property too.  With boilerplate rental agreements readily available on the internet, a landlord simply needs to place a free ad on craigslist, and then prepare for the flood of 50 or so phone calls within the first 5 minutes.

So while I can't show you those nifty charts and graphs that calculate the exact uptick in rental demand, this phenomenon is being confirmed by many other agents, as well as would-be renters who are in the thick of the battle right now.   What's happening to cause this?

Where are the Renters Coming From?

There are a couple of possible sources behind the surge in renters, and they're interesting because they come from completely opposite directions.

  • Distressed Homeowners:   Whether it's because of divorce, loss of job, or health reasons, there's still a significant pool of people in the Bay Area for whom remaining a homeowner will not be an option for much longer.    As they leave the home owner ranks in droves, many will still need a roof over their head in this area.
  • Job Relocation.  Social media companies in this area, both established and start-ups, seem to be on a hiring tear right now.   The competition for talent in this very specialized field has forced them to look nationally and internationally.   Consequently, there seems to be a BIG increase in people needing to relocate to the peninsula on fairly short notice.    Some of these will be long-term renters, others just temporarily until they can sell their existing homes where they just came from.    Even if they're getting assistance from a corporate relocation company, they usually need to sell their existing home first before they can pop for a new one here.   Alain Pinel Realtors has a dedicated relocation department, and they've experienced record levels of relocations over the past few months.

Prices Likely to Rise.

Unlike the interesting paradox that we're seeing with home sales prices, rental prices will very likely rise with the increased demand.  If you're currently in the hunt for a rental home, I'd be very interested to hear your experiences  — is there indeed lots of competition?   What is the inventory like?  Are prices indeed rising?  Let us know in the comments.

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6 Comments

  1. Arn on July 26, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    Chuck
    I manage about 20 properties on the Peninsula for my investor clients and I cam confirm, the accuracy of your post. Every vacancy I have had the past few months has received between 5 and 10 applications and rents in a matter of days.
    Arn



  2. Michael on July 26, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    I saw that after 3 months on the market, our neighbor’s home did not sell at $1.295M, but rented in a few days at $4600/month.



  3. andy on July 26, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    Couldn’t another source of renters be folks who still think home prices are overvalued and therefore are just sitting on the sidelines and renting till market plays itself out (obviously not guarantee it will go down)?

    These same folks might find it hard to justify cash flow wise buying a house that say would sell for $1M that they can rent for mid $3,000s, specially given all the uncertainty/risk still with home prices.



  4. Chuck Gillooley on July 27, 2011 at 12:09 am

    Hi Andy,

    Excellent point. There’s absolutely no doubt that a big percentage of the renters has been (and always will be) those who prefer to rent for the reasons you stated. However, I don’t think they’re the driving factor behind the sudden uptick in demand that we’re seeing, which was the point I was trying to convey.

    Thanks for your comment…



  5. Minerva on July 27, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    Some people who are trying to sell their houses, just let others rent it if it won’t sell. It will be much better if they let others rent it than just let the house standby and not receive any income for the house. A lot of young professionals are now a big part of the buyers community but a lot of them are also renting because of their jobs.



  6. Want to Feel Better About San Carlos Rental Prices? : Laurel Street Spy on August 28, 2011 at 1:12 am

    […] home on Hull is renting for $2,850 a month.  (Check out realtor Chuck Gillooley’s, “Demand Spikes for Rentals in SC, Peninsula” post in White Oaks […]



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