[quote=HLS]Landlords will lower rents to keep a place rented, competition becomes brutal for a limited amount of avaialble money. Lower prices encourages people to spend, as long as they have money.
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Actually, I start to believe that the lower rents will bring the next leg down for real estate. I don’t think the SFH owners will suffer most though. I think the apartment owners are really screwed. You see, they couldn’t really lower their rents, because:
1. Their existing tenants will be unhappy paying a much higher price.
2. If they plan to sell it, a lower rental price will make the valuation much worse.
So they can only offer free months promotions but that attract exactly the worst of worst from the shrinking tenant pool.

Anyone knows some apartment company stocks that I can short with?

By the way, let me know when the day of 4% mortgage rate comes, given the other thread was saying that the congress is trying to offer assistances ($5K) for refinance, I could use some government bailout as well.