Boise Rental Boom

Do you own rental property or have thought about owning investment property? It is remarkable how many inquiries I receive from people looking for single family homes to rent. These are families that do not want to live in apartments or other multi-family units. I’m far from the only agent receiving these calls. We are all getting sign calls asking if the owners of the homes we have listed would consider renting and or do a lease/purchase. The owners that occupy these homes are not in the least bit interested in either option. Why this sudden interest in rentals? Firstly, although interest rates are incredible banks are still holding on pretty tightly to their purse strings, not a totally bad thing considering a few years ago they were granting loans to anyone with a pulse. The second reason is the large number of people that have lost their homes to foreclosure. Unfortunately this group of previous home owners will be unable to purchase homes for many, many years. Conventional wisdom use to be a 3 year wait period after bankruptcy or foreclosure before you could purchase again. I have been hearing it could be more like 7 years.

A few years ago we had a glut of rentals and rents where going down. Now with rental inventory shrinking rents are rising and in my opinion will continue to go up. Don’t believe me take a look at what’s available for rent on Craigslist. It’s pretty slim pickings in Ada County for single family homes, rents have increased and you will most likely find yourself in competition with multiple applications for each home for rent. There are homes for sale in the valley that will cash flow, couldn’t be a better time to buy investment property!