Are rents going down in major areas?

[Vinay H.]

I read that rents are down at least 3% in the hot markets of SF, NYC and Boston? Any landlord in these areas care to comment? If so, how does that affect the decisions to buy rental properties in these metros as the tents could go down further whilst the prices are skyrocketing out of control!!?? Is a crash in the investment market in these areas inevitable? Looks like right now almost every rental investment in Cambridge MA is going to bleed money on a rental cash flow basis. Sample figures. 2 br 1 bath listing for 550 k selling at 570k. Monthly expense with just mortgage tax and fees are running at 2.7 to 3k and the rents have softened to 2.3k. Now if you add vacancy and maintenance to this equation, it looks like such an "investment" in Cambridge is going to bleed 5 to 6 k a year on a cash flow basis. Of course, the potential for appreciation is 4% easily a year or even 10% in these areas but again the numbers show a market that is not rooted in reality. Comments?