According to a recent study of the nations housing market, Eugene has the 2nd most restrictive in the nation. This is amazing when you consider the housing crunch in major cities in the northwest like Seattle and Portland.
To the investor and landlord, this has been a great boon. However, we are seeing an end to what our tenants can afford in the lower markets, but expenses just keeping climbing so all the rent increases have been needed and are still important.
In the upper (over $1700) rentals markets, we are seeing a slight drop off in rental rates. This is mostly because it takes time for the economy to recover and after the “great recession” a lot of companies are cautious about expansion.
The boom in the real estate market in California is pushing a lot of out of state investors into the Eugene/Springfield market. Many of these investors are disappointed in the lack of inventory in traditional rental properties for sale and are purchasing a lot of homes in the $300-400K. This is creating a glut in this section of the rental market with slightly depressed pricing as a result.
Overall, the rental market here is Lane County is strong but with some underlying obstacles from the lag in wages. Folks are really having a tough time making ends meet these days, but landlords are not to blame. And without these modest raises in rental rates, many landlords would be expensed out of the market making the low inventory even worse. With all this, we will be suggesting rental rate increases in the coming week proportionate to the market. Stay tuned.
Happy Landlording