Rental price increases and renters insurance myths

Bloomberg reported U.S. apartment vacancies dropped in the second quarter of 2011 to the lowest in more than three years, leading landlords to increase rents. According to Reis, a property research firm, the vacancy rate fell to 6 percent by the end of June.

Bloomberg reported that rising foreclosures and prospective homebuyers struggling to get mortgages is pushing more people into rental properties. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the home ownership rate in the U.S. fell to 66.4 percent in the first quarter.

"There's still a stigma to buying houses," CEO of Pinnacle, a Seattle property management company, Stan Harrelson told Bloomberg. "Even with job growth, people aren't ready to take that step."

According to MSN, people renting should consider renters insurance, despite deceiving myths about it. Renters insurance is not as expensive as homeowners insurance because homeowners insure the cost of the building, while renters are just insuring the stuff inside. And many insurance providers will give a discount to clients who get their auto insurance through them as well.

The news source reported that even if one roommate has insurance, the other ones should have individual policies as well. Each person's belongings have different monetary value so splitting a policy can get complicated. Even small appliances can total up to big losses if a natural disaster were to occur.  

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