Does every town need rental units?

[Kelly Bellini]

I ask because my husband and I bought our first investment property, which we are currently rehabbing. We planned to flip this one, but have now decided to hold it as a rental. Now, there’s another house nearby that we’re interested in purchasing, as another rental. Here’s my concern though: the town where these houses are located is lower/middle income. Houses sell for around 110k-130k, give or take. We’re looking to get around 1100 in rent. But as I research what other people are charging for rent, I’m not really finding anything that’s actually FOR RENT. So, I’m left wondering if this is bad news or great news. Does this mean nobody rents in this area? Or does it mean this area is in dire need of rental units? I’m baffled. I would think that in a lower-ish income area, there would HAVE to be renters, but maybe I’m way off base. Please give me your thoughts :)