If you’re looking to rent but don’t know what the going rate is in your area or if you own rental property but are not sure how much to charge. Rentometer.com is a new website that may be able to help.
Users type in an address, rent, and some basics about the property (and I do mean basics) and Rentometer.com gives you the average rent for the area of similar apartments. It also shows you where the apartments are whose rent is being compared to the one you entered. There is no charge for this service.
Just for fun, I input the rents I charge for my rentals and the results were about what I expected. I am charging just a little higher than the average for properties in my area.
The website says that they collect data from public sources in print and on the internet. And every time someone enters in the rental rate for a unit in Rentometer.com, the data is collected and saved for future analysis and use by the site. It doesn’t sound very scientific but I don’t know of any website that offers this service for free.
October 13, 2006
According to national estimates, home heating costs are expected to be lower this year. Depending on where you live and what type of fuel you use, home heating costs may in fact go down this year. But, they may also increase. Here’s why:
The Energy Information Administration estimates that, nationally, bills for homes heated by natural gas will be 13 percent less than last year. But to counteract any relief you natural gas users may feel, Connecticut Natural Gas applied to the Department of Public Utility Control for an 8% rate hike to consumers mostly in the areas north and east of Hartford.
If you live south of Hartford and have natural gas, your bill will likely go down. Southern Connecticut Gas Company, which serves communities in Midddlesex, Fairfield and New Haven counties, predicts that its customers will be paying as much as 18% less. (more…)
October 12, 2006
According to RBC Capital’s annual consumer survey, nearly half of the nation’s homeowners expect their home values to increase by 5 percent per year over the next few years. Although fewer homeowners were as optimistic when compared to last year, the rate is significant since news about the real estate market has been overwhelmingly negative. The survey also revealed that:
25 per cent of homeowners have already paid off their mortgage - twice the number of people with risky variable and interest-only mortgages (13 per cent). “While it’s true that it may be easier to pay off a mortgage in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania than it is in NYC, we were still very surprised that the number was so high,” said Scot Ciccarelli, managing director and equity research analysts for RBC Capital Markets. “This goes against the general belief that most Americans are leveraged to the hilt.”
More than 80 per cent of all homeowners surveyed have at least $50,000 of equity built up in their homes and almost 60 per cent believe they have at least $100,000 of equity in their homes, underlining how much home equity has been built up in the U.S. over the last several years.
However, those who entered the end of the housing cycle with variable rate and interest-only mortgages are clearly at risk once their mortgages renew. Nearly 40 per cent of those with variable rate and interest-only mortgages are concerned with their ability to meet higher payments, while 13 per cent haven’t even considered the ramifications. While this is a fairly small segment of the overall survey (approximately 6 per cent), it suggests material risk to this segment of the population.
“While real estate expectations are lower than they were last year, consumers still seem optimistic despite what we are seeing in the marketplace,” said Ciccarelli. “Declining real estate values could eventually impact consumer spending as people don’t feel as wealthy as they used to and become less likely to borrow against the equity they have built up in their homes.”
For more from this survey, go to RBC’s website.
October 7, 2006
Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau illustrates that Connecticut is following the national trend of housing costs outpacing the growth of incomes. Median housing costs (the average value found by arranging values of housing costs in order and then picking the one in the middle) continue to rise in Connecticut for renters and owners but not as quickly as incomes, with more people spending a greater percentage of their income on housing.
For owner-occupied homes with a mortgage, monthly housing costs have risen from a median of $1,477/month in 2002 to $1,718/month in 2005, a 14.1% increase. Renters also have seen an increase in housing costs from a median of $730/month to $839/month, a 13% increase.
Incomes have risen throughout the state but not in proportion to housing costs. In 2002, the median income in Connecticut was $56,543/year and it was $60,941/year in 2005, an increase of about 7%. (more…)
October 4, 2006
Zillow.com’s homepage reads:
“Free, instant valuations and data for 67,000,000+ homes (…and you don’t have to enter any personal info and no one will contact you)”
Sounds good to me. How about you? Who wants to actually talk to a realtor? Not me, and I am one.
I’m not going to trash other realtors here and I’m not even going to trash zillow.com but I am issuing a word of warning to all the do-it-your-selfers out there. Zillow.com should only be one of many tools you use to price a home to sell or judge the value of a home you’re thinking of buying - not the only tool. Here’s how you should use the info on zillow.com. (more…)
October 2, 2006
