I still question the 30% vacancy figure among the homes for sale. But yeah, some of the rentals are being sold off, and it only takes a few people selling-to-rent to have an effect on the supply/demand. Add to that the number of refis among the remaining rentals and rents would have to come up some. The thing is, the rental increases are limited by income levels in the region – there’s no profit upside for a renter to justify paying too much in rents.
We saw the same thing in the apartment market a couple years back. Apartment rents spiked as a result of increased debt service demands resulting from those agressive sale prices. Most of those apartment rents have since backed off a little as the owners attempt to maintain their occupancy levels.
