Real Estate Services

By M Siddique

Great news landlords and investors… because of the current crisis in the real estate market, an increase in foreclosures, and a tightening of lending standards an increasing number of Americans are choosing to rent.

With vacancy rates of rental properties at all time lows, asking rental rates at a near all time high, and an increase in apartment demand, it may be just the right time for rental property investment.

“Rental housing is simply more attractive than for-sale housing for a lot of people right now. If they’re waiting for a really great deal to come along before buying, they may be figuring that it’s best to just rent in the mean time,” says Cathy Williams, director of the National Housing Division.

And the numbers confirm: median asking rents were $1,052 for rental units completed during the third quarter of 2007, breaking the previous high of $1,025; strongly suggesting general improvement in the rental market.

Regionally, the Northeast, the West, and the Midwest have the highest median asking rents, with the reported median asking rents in all three places at more than $1,150. While these rent levels are quite common in the West and the Northeast, this is the first time rents levels have reached these heights in the Midwest.

Not surprisingly, asking rents for existing apartments also have been steadily improving and are at or near all-time highs; suggesting that the rental market is strong and a great time to capitalize on the mortgage mess.

As it is getting hard to get new loans due stringent lending guidelines based on default forecast or foreclosures, there is another opportunity for home owners, to buy homes with lease purchases. There are number of websites offering lease purchase with no new loan such as www.butterflylister.com

Siddique is real estate investor for many years and president of http://www.butterflylister.com Free Download How to sell your Home for Full Price in any market. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_Siddique