The real estate market is in a strange place right now. Last year saw the largest average sale price on record for homes. However, this comes with a major catch. Since sale prices are so high, far fewer people are buying, so the market as a whole has slowed.
Real estate is a complex business, and there are many things taking place at any given time. This raises the question of what else is going on right now. What's going on in real estate news? We'll talk more about that here.
Potential Rent Limits
Prices are rising and housing is getting scarce. To combat this trend, President Biden has proposed rent caps on affordable housing units near the West Coast. The vast majority of these properties are in Western California, but there are some in other states.
One such community is Needles, Arizona, which is about twenty miles from Bullhead City. These caps are unlikely to affect Bullhead City much, but it's important to prepare when investing in real estate.
One of the ways you can do this is by screening tenants. The biggest jobs of a property manager are to maintain their properties and make sure their tenants can pay rent. Background checks help with that.
Continued Increase in Prices
In areas where rent caps are not imposed, housing prices will continue rising. How much longer this will last is hard to say, though. As prices continue to rise, the number of buyers shrinks.
This is how the law of supply and demand works. As a commodity becomes more in demand, businesses charge more for that good and prices rise. This continues as the commodity becomes more exclusive.
However, if the rising prices aren't curbed, the profit growth stops as more buyers fall off and the commodity doesn't bring in enough money to cover what businesses pay for it. In some cases, this can lead to bankruptcy because the business has spent more money buying the good than it can recoup by selling it.
When this happens with real estate, they call it a housing bubble. When demand drops, the bubble bursts. Experts disagree about whether we are in a housing bubble now and what the chances are of it bursting.
Increased Communal Living
Despite the current housing issue, there are some changes to look forward to. If you happen to own a rental property, you might get some new tenants this year.
The precarious housing situation is causing people to move away from single-family homes to apartments, townhouses, and other shared spaces. What the impact of this will be, it's hard to say.
What we do know is renting as a whole has been on an upward trend since the 1970s.
Real Estate News in 2024
The latest in real estate news is that the current market might be approaching a crossroads. Signs are pointing to rental properties becoming more popular and more sustainable.
You can learn more about the real estate market and how to navigate it by reading our blog. If you're in need of property management services, contact us at Property Management Inc.