Owner Occupant-Renters Ratio Changing?

Started by CarolR11 • 3 replies • 1203 views

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CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Last year at this time, 57% of our residents were Owners and 43% renters. Now, we're 63% Owners and 37% renters.

We're 200+ high rise units in a coastal urban setting.

I know a lot of you have only a few rentals in your HOAs, but I'm curious: Are the rest of you you seeing a similar trend?

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Carol,

What were the ratios ten years ago, before the economy began its nose-dive in 2008?

Since I do not live in a condo I have no trend to compare yours with.

I suspect that many investors purchased condos and other property at either foreclosure or short sales. One realtor told me the lure was if you had $60,000 in cash you could earn $600 a year in interest from the bank or purchase a 3-bedroom home and rent it for $1000 a month. I can only guess that many first-time landlords were not prepared for reality. Taxes, association fees, and repairs have to be paid, whether you have a tenant or not. I suspect that many investors did not find the easy money they had expected and have put their units onto the open market.

The market is nothing to sneeze at. We bought a home in May, 2011, when the market was at its lowest. The house is now worth twice what we paid for it because the market has rebounded that much. Assuming that there is a similar rise in values in your area, selling the rental property that did not do as well as expected might be a good idea.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Interesting question - we haven't really tracked this, although you've given me a great idea to do so!

As of September, it appears we have 41% owner-occupied and 56% off-site. We're a townhouse community and as you might imagine, I'm concerned about these percentages and how they could affect homeowners' ability to sell or refinance, although the number of foreclosures in our community probably play a bigger role.

Around here, people used to say "well, at least the off site owners are paying assessments" (since they were renting the places out), but that's really not true anymore, because as treasurer, I've seen an equal number of on and off-site owners getting referred to our attorney.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

AnnH5 (Florida)
Posts: 304

Posted:

Rentals do not outnumber owner-occupied, but we have a lot more rentals than before. In the last round of home selling, the buyers were investment companies and the people who were selling their homes were the people who bought after the market crashed so they weren't upside down. Some of those sellers made a little profit. It was explained to us by a realtor that traditional buyers were having trouble getting loans so that left the investors who were buying. But now, it seems the investors are done and the sales are dead again. Our other rentals seem to be coming from owners who can't sell (owe more than the house is worth) but want or need to move so they turn their home into a rental unit. Now I am waiting for the other shoe to drop and the foreclosures to start back up. There have been a few in the neighborhood that have been in the courts for years now. If anyone out there is experiencing a true recovery with actual homeowners buying non-distressed properties, consider yourselves blessed.

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