I'm planning to move to Florida due to a job change, and am not sure whether to rent out my current house in Bergen County or sell it outright. House is a side by side in Fort Lee, built in 2016, bought for 760k. I have the option of either selling it now, or rent it out and use the cash flow to pay my mortgage. I guess the source of my confusion is that I'm not sure how easy or difficult it is to rent a house in my area with a relatively high rent (upwards of 4k a month). Do properties in this rent range rent out relatively easily in Bergen county? Also, how much time on market should I plan for, because I will have to pay mortgage in two places for whatever time the house is on the market so need to plan accordingly. Any pointers much appreciated.
Real Estate Agent · Hackensack, NJ · Member since 2014 · 321 posts · 412 votes
5y
With COVID, not only has it affected the sales market, which has very low inventory, it has affected the house rental market also. Took a quick look on the MLS, there are only 2 house rentals in the entire town of Fort Lee right now on the market. One is priced at $3500 (6 days on the market) and the other one is $4200. The $4200 does currently have an accepted tenant on it (leased not signed yet), but that one was on the market for 66 days. It's not a newer, side by side home like yours though.
For the past 12 months, according to NJMLS stats, average days on the market for house rentals in Fort Lee is 60 days. $4000 isn't a super high rental for Fort Lee, as of the 38 house rentals, the house rentals average rent price was $4342 and the median was $3500.
Real Estate Agent · Hackensack, NJ · Member since 2014 · 321 posts · 412 votes
5y
With COVID, not only has it affected the sales market, which has very low inventory, it has affected the house rental market also. Took a quick look on the MLS, there are only 2 house rentals in the entire town of Fort Lee right now on the market. One is priced at $3500 (6 days on the market) and the other one is $4200. The $4200 does currently have an accepted tenant on it (leased not signed yet), but that one was on the market for 66 days. It's not a newer, side by side home like yours though.
For the past 12 months, according to NJMLS stats, average days on the market for house rentals in Fort Lee is 60 days. $4000 isn't a super high rental for Fort Lee, as of the 38 house rentals, the house rentals average rent price was $4342 and the median was $3500.
Thank you @Kevin Hill - so basically I should rent, but prepared to pay mortgage in two places for 1-2 months. How did you get the NJMLS stats for rentals? I checked out njmls.com but that only shows for sales and not rentals.
Thanks @Alexander Szikla - I like Fort Lee a lot too. The pandemic makes everything a toss up since a lot of financial firms are moving down south, but also people from NYC are moving to NJ so it feels like the wheel of fortune is spinning and no one knows who's going to get the jackpot.
Thank you @Kevin Hill - so basically I should rent, but prepared to pay mortgage in two places for 1-2 months. How did you get the NJMLS stats for rentals? I checked out njmls.com but that only shows for sales and not rentals.
Thanks again.
Depending on what time of the year its listed (late spring/early summer is better for rentals I have found), the condition of the property, and it its priced right, it could rent much quicker. I am a licensed real estate agent and I have access to market stats.