Supply and Demand for Rentals

[Stephanie Grady]

Hi Everyone!

My husband and I are new to REI and are getting into buy and holds at this point. I have a a pretty broad question about rental saturation in varying neighborhoods. We are trying to get a sense as to what various rents are depending on the properties and areas. Through our research (mainly on Craigslist), we are finding some areas have barely any rentals available while others have a plethora of rentals. My question is: on average, is it a better idea to buy in area where there are a lot of rentals already in place or an area where there are not many? My fear is some areas won't support people wanting to rent a home. On the other side of things, if there is already a big supply of rentals needed to filled then buying in an area like that would lead to more competition for renters. Any insight would be much appreciated. Again, I know this is a pretty broad question and every market is different, but just a sense would be great! Thanks in advance!

Stephanie