Housing market is prime for rental industry

Recent statistics from the Census Bureau found the number of homeowners is at its lowest point since 1998 due to a high rate of default and foreclosure accompanied with stringent lending requirements holding many consumers back from purchasing homes. The weak market has created a strong demand for rental property, pushing prices on rentals high.

Chris Brown, vice president of Apartments.com, told NBC 9 News in Colorado consumers are choosing to rent not only because of the current economic conditions, but because rental properties offer more flexibility to consumers worried about a debt crisis in Europe and a high unemployment rate in the United States. In response to the high demand for rentals, real estate investors are purchasing foreclosed properties at extremely low prices and converting them into rental properties.

But the high demand has caused rental prices to rise. A recent report from the Insight Center for Community Economic Development found the cost of living in Oakland, California, has increased 18 percent since the start of the recession in 2008, and housing costs continue to rise especially for renters, Mercury News reported.

"As a result of the foreclosure market and the housing bust, more people are moving out of their own homes into rental properties," said David Thompson, a financial coach at the United Way's SparkPoint Center in Bay Point. "And rents are still high."

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