Posted by Matt Curtis on Tuesday, April 26th, 2022 1:26pm.
There's bad news out there for renters in Huntsville, Alabama with rents rising 17% nationally. Our local WAYY 31 reported average rent is up $283 a month to an average of $1,792. That's over $3,300 per year which is the difference between a staycation at the apartment pool and heading to the beach this summer.
The article also cites the chief economist at Realtor.com who said, “Rents will remain high and expect some cooling from the current pace.” I think that's a little optimistic because some cooling could also mean we rise 6%, 8%, or even 10%. So with that, I still think there's going to be a lot more room for these rates to rise.
The reason for that is 40% of US dollars have been printed in the last 24 months. Since 17% is much less than 40%; I do believe that rents are going to continue to rise over the next one, two and even three plus years. If you don't believe me, watch what the smart money is doing. One in four and even up to one in three homes in some areas are being purchased by investors and Wall Street money. This is one reason why home ownership is such an integral part of the American dream.
Individuals and families can lock in a 30 year mortgage investment versus having rent payments rise year after year. The numbers don't lie, homeowners have 40x the average net worth of renters. That's $255,000 versus an average of $6,300 for renters. The Wall Street Journal recently cited Zillow’s report where the average homeowner made more in home appreciation than in their job in 2021. That's $52,667 versus the average income of $50,000.