Foreclosure and rental trends: Good news for landlords?

Recent reports say foreclosure rates are up and rental vacancy rates are down, two national housing market trends that may bode well for landlords here in Ohio.

As reported by PR Newswire citing a third-quarter study by RealtyTrac (TM), national foreclosures are up by 17 percent since the second quarter of 2006.

The same study ranks Ohio fifth in the nation in foreclosure rates, up 23 percent in the third quarter with 19,748 foreclosure filings in July, August and September.

Meanwhile, New York-based real estate research firm Reis, Inc. has reported to the Associated Press that a study of 75 national markets reveals monthly rent prices are up 3.9 percent since 2004 while vacancy rates are down 1.3 percent, reaching a low nationwide average of 5.4 percent, in the same period.

Hang on to your shoes, folks, because The Editor is about to attempt a moment of statistical synthesis, and she's not really trained to do that sort of thing.

It would seem that the renting population -- traditionally students, recent grads, the elderly, the metropolitan upwardly mobile 20-something, and lower-income families -- is increasing, perhaps being joined by families who can't meet the demands of rising interest rates on their adjustable rate mortgages as well as families who can't afford the high prices of homes currently on the market.

It would follow that landlords are seeing a larger pool of candidates when they advertise their vacancies, and that they would have fewer vacancies to advertise. But is this true in Ohio? The Editor is interested in your thoughts; please leave her a comment if you'd like.