Do rents/multifamily housing decrease when overall economy tanks?

[Todd Powell]

I have acquired several units in the last 3 years, and many were off market good deals after I rehabbed and increased rents. What are your opinions about the real estate market? In Oregon and surrounding areas have been steadily going up for the last several years. It’s been 10 years now since the 2008 recession and wondering how long home prices and rents will continue to rise ? I know no one has a crystal ball but they say RE runs in 7 year cycles, and if this happens will rents drop ? Or, do rents stay steady out there?

Thanks for your input.

[Wesley W.]

It's very specific to your market and the nature of the downturn.  Is there a major employer in the area?  How are they being affected by the economy?  What's the rental inventory like?  Is there a lot of vacancy?  What kind of neighborhood?  A/B/C?  One mode of thinking is that the cheaper rentals suffer less from a downturn, since "they gotta live somewhere" and some renters from the higher end units will move down until the economy rebounds.  I've only been in the game since the last downturn in my market, so I can't give a specific anecdote.