April Rental Market News

With April wrapping up, there is some good news on the rental scene, and in the real estate market as a whole. It seems to me that like the weather, things are heating up a bit.

Here in Seattle, the real estate professionals I know are getting busier by the day. Anecdotally, home inspectors are reporting an increase in business, as are friends in other related professions such as title, escrow and lending.

I got to feeling so confident that I put one of my own homes out on the market and got a great response. We had a ton of quality showings and really great feedback. Of course, the house is a great deal-- I've got a contract for about $80k less than it would have sold for last year... but that was last year! It was funny to see how many people came around multiple times to "kick the tires" and how many agents wanted to be "kept in the loop". It seemed like nobody wanted to make a move until someone else made a move- which was exactly what happened and we ended up with three offers. But either way, it goes to show that buyers are not white unicorns of our imagination. Of course, inventory is low in Area 705 (Ballard-Green Lake), it's a truly fantastic house, and the price was low enough to make it pretty hard to pass up.

I'm seeing the same thing in the rental market... a ton of tire kickers and people taking their sweet time to make a decision. Whereas it would normally take only a few showings to rent out a place, it's taking a lot more showings. This makes sense because the rental inventory is so high- there's a lot for a renter to see! Prices are definitely low and needing to stay low- and I've finally settled into the idea that we're not going to see those prices creeping up for the "summer rush" like we normally would. Homes that are priced too high are definitely going to sit empty.

So, with great effort and lower prices... what's the good news? The good news- er, the GREAT news- is that places that are marketable and reasonably priced are ACTUALLY RENTING! Nothing was more frustrating than Feb & March where we had lots of great properties at a steal of a price and nobody wanting to sign a contract.

Kinda like everyone everywhere, you have to feel grateful for what IS going right. We're ALL working twice as hard for less financial reward, but hopefully, those who are working are grateful to have a job!

My two pieces of advice for those who have a rental property this month are:

- Be prepared to show your property a TON.

- If your place hasn't rented in a month or if you go a whole week without a single serious call on your property, this is a clear indication that you're priced too high. (Obviously, this is not ALWAYS the case, there are certain properties that are unusual and take a longer time to attract the right tenant... but those cases are rare.)