

Zillow Acquires HotPads For $16 Million To Grow Its Rental Marketplace - alexobenauer
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/26/zillow-acquires-rental-and-real-estate-search-site-hotpads-for-16-million-to-grow-its-rental-marketplace/

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victoro
It would be interesting to look at this as another data point in a macro shift
from buying to renting. Other data points would be decreased job security and
growing gas prices making it less attractive to buy homes far out in the
suburbs.

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hkmurakami
Another factor is that for much of the past two decades, there was a self-
fulfilling prophecy that real estate prices would continue to climb
indefinitely. Buying a home was a no brainer decision that would bring asset
appreciation and tax deduction benefits to the owner.

Post 2008, I imagine that much of the country is unsure that such a price
increase will occur over the next decade. Faced with an uncertain future value
of a home versus a defined cost for renting an apartment, perhaps more people
will choose renting to avoid facing cognitive dissonance over this matter.

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vijayr
If someone has the money, he/she can buy a few properties for cheap and rent
them out (probably make more in rent than the mortgage, if they take out a
loan), no?

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erickhill
That very much depends on several factors, including:

1) the original price of the home and the "well being" of the neighborhood
therein. Oftentimes, high mortgages and property taxes can nullify any
perceived gains.

2) rentals are seen as income (whether they break even or not) so they are not
eligible for the same refinancing opportunities that one may find with a
residence.

3) rentals, depending on the home and the tenants, aren't always low
maintenance. There are ways to let others handle this for you, but that taps
into any revenues as well.

All in all, in desirable locales (e.g. SF Bay Area), unless a property was
snatched up pre-2007, many landlords I know are not breaking even. Finding
"deals" from foreclosures, or severely depressed areas, were the main recent
opportunities for many (IMO).

