Check out the tiny rental market in my hood above.
Note the gap between $2,000 and $3,700.
People all the time who hear about my lunatic landlord and all the BS I have to put up with from him, they are always telling me *move out* or *move somewhere else* as if it's so easy to pull off.
Even when we moved to this region 3 years ago, there was almost nothing for rent in the *middle end* of the market - around what we pay now $2,500 per month. I've been watching this part of the rental market all these years and it's always been slim pickings. When anything in this range hits the market, it's gone within a day or a week. There just isn't much of a rental market out here. Sadly, many people get discouraged by that and
We have 2,200 square feet, a perfect location, and an awesome backyard. Other renters in town that I know pay MORE for LESS. One I know is paying $2,800 for a mere 1,300 square feet. And this wealthy couple is just parking there short-term, or so they hope, while they renovate their house. Pretty much that is the rental demand out here - people looking for an in-town abode while they renovated their kitchens and whatnot.
I've put up with my landlord's shenanigans because, all told, we still had a very good deal here at this price. After overpaying for all his properties, it's kind of funny that he *undercharged* us for rent by a few hundred bucks a month. But dumbness is pervasive, no?
While the gratuitous suggestions to simply *move out* (as if moving wasn't a major pain in the butt!) do chafe me, to be fair, it is pretty darn hard to believe that an area such as this would have so few rental options. I've never seen anything like it either, in all the places I've lived.
5 comments:
No offense, but the reason Hingham is a nice town is because there isn't a lot of rental properties.
(Stereo)typically, renters do not care for a property the same way as an owner would. However, the current state of the housing/mortgage market is quickly making this an outdated way of thinking.
I don't think that's THE reason Hingham is a nice town.
Hingham has a lot of people that work in the private sector - a big plus here in the the Commi-wealth.
It also has a lot of people, relatively speaking, that are either from out-of-state or have at least lived outside of New England at some point in their lives.
I believe the factors I mentioned above make people friendlier.
(Also, Hingham is far from *colleges* and the cranks who surround them!)
Do you think perhaps people holding back from purchasing houses has something to do with it?
I think Hingham is primarily a $1 million home district. In other words, that's were the meat of the supply is.
The few homes that are in the 500-800k range, they are bid up by two-income families, people who have good credit and think nothing of mortgaging 600k for 30 years when they are up to 35-40 years old already.
Justin,
No offense taken. I completely agree.
C-
We dealt with the crappy Hingham rental market 3yrs ago.
Good luck!
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