Whos's renting in the rust belt? Why doesnt everyone buy at those prices?

[Jonathan H.]

Hi guys,

I was just speaking to my brother via skype a few minutes ago.
He's in Australia.

I tell him Im planning on doing a road trip to Cleveland to check out some properties.

I explain to him that there are properties there going from 35K and up. He's going to be a RE agent in OZ and he just freaked out when I told him. He just could not believe how low the prices were.

So then he asks me: "Why do you want to buy there? Who's gonna rent from you if everyone can buy?"

My only answer was that I assumed people in the area had bad credit?
Then I realized how bad that generalization was. :oops:

But can someone explain this to me? I guess he had a valid point. I guess vacancies are higher in those areas but since you can purchase at such a low price, its still worth it.
Who is renting these properties?

thanks

[Jon Klaus]

Many people seem to be programmed to live paycheck to paycheck, through bad times and good. Add to that the growing bias against home ownership, even among some who can afford it. And finally, the increased difficulty of getting a mortgage. Home ownership rates are declinIng even in very affordable markets.