Rental Market Up

As the U.S. real estate market has taken a hit, roiling from the after effects of the subprime mortgage lending crisis with home prices and sales numbers down and foreclosures at record highs, one area shows a silver lining among all the mess: the residential rental market.

As lending standards have tightened as creditors have become more cautious, it has made it more difficult for people looking to buy houses to get approval for a mortgage, and many have found they must turn to homes for rent, at least temporarily, driving up the demand, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released this month. Read more

Mortgage Mess Drags On

Buyers looking to take out new financing or refinance their mortgage are still few and far between in the real estate market, as the crisis stemming from the subprime mess continues to slog on, dragging down the U.S. economy.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report this week that the number of mortgage applications filed last week had decreased a seasonally adjusted 28.7% compared with the week prior. Thirty year fixed mortgage rates were averaging a 5.75%, up just a tick from the previous week’s 5.74% average. Read more