Optimism in the Housing Market Leads to More Rental Homes

Home prices expected to have first yearly gain since 2006.

New single-family home sales climbed 4.4 % in November to a seasonally adjusted 377,000-unit annual rate.
Many of these homes were purchased by investors who rent them out to former homeowners who now, for whatever reason, need to rent.

U.S. consumer confidence did fall more than expected in December due to the "fiscal crisis".  Despite that, there is a growing sense of optimism about the economy.  The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a nearly 4-1/2 year low. The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000.

“This recent improvement in the claims data is potentially a favorable signal for the labor market,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. With an anticipated increase in hiring due to the rebuilding campaign on the east coast in the wake of Super-Storm Sandy, there will most likely be more qualified, income-earning renters in the year ahead.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the leading measures for the US to track changes in the value of residential real estate.  They are calculated monthly using a three-month moving average and published with a two month lag.  

Click to see the price indices as of December 26, 2012

Economic challenges still face owners, property managers and prospective residents, but trends are moving in our favor.