Three Factors that Could Trip Up the Recovery
By Les Shaver
Things are looking good for rental operators.
Last week, the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent, making things even brighter. "There is more optimism than not in last week's job repot," says Chris Herbert, director of research for Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. "That is a question mark going forward."
But economists don't think we're out of the woods yet. Here are three factors that could continue to influence jobs and demand for apartments.
..."If you get new jobs, it's a plus," says Stan Ross, chairman of the board at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "If you lose the jobs, whether it's school teachers, police, or any kind of government service, layoffs could have an affect. Those are significant."
...The gap between homeownership and rentals is still wide, even almost five years after the real estate meltdown. Ross says his students at USC found that there was still a 30 percent to 35 percent premium to own a home.