CNBC’s Diana Olick recently
reported that rents in the residential housing sector continued to rise in 2014. She interviewed Jed Kolko, Chief Economist at
Trulia, who revealed:
"Rents are rising because of strong demand that supply hasn't kept up with. Nearly all the new households are renters, and young people moving out of their parents' homes will keep fueling rental demand."
Where are rents headed in 2015?
The question now is where rents will be heading over the next twelve months. In a
press release last week,
Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries predicted residential rental prices will continue to climb in 2015:
"Home value appreciation will continue to cool down, from roughly 6 percent now to around 2.5 percent by the end of 2015. But rents will see no such slowdown, and will continue to grow around 3.5 percent annually throughout 2015. As renters' costs keep going up, I expect the allure of fixed mortgage payments and a more stable housing market will entice many more otherwise content renters into the housing market."
However, those potential buyers must make a decision quickly because, as Kolko explains:
“Paying more on rent makes it harder for would-be homebuyers to save for a down payment."
Bottom Line
Ryan Severino, a senior economist at Reis, in Olick’s article stated the obvious:
"Landlords should still be able to push asking rent increases on to their tenants."
If you are thinking about buying a home in 2015 instead of continuing to rent, it probably makes sense.
Yesterday, HousingWire reported that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac formally announced their 3% down options on home purchases. Fannie Mae’s plan will be effective December 13, 2014 while the Freddie Mac plan will be available March 23, 2015. The HW article quotes FHFA Director Mel Watt:
There are some who are calling for a substantial drop in home prices should mortgage interest rates begin to rise rapidly. Intuitively that makes sense. The cost of a home is determined by the price of the home and the price of financing that home. If mortgage interest rates increase, less people will be able to buy. The logic says prices will fall if demand decreases.
However, history shows us that this has not been the case the last four times mortgage interest rates dramatically increased.
