Take mid-year look at Houston’s rental marketplace
Earlier this month, I visited with Ted C. Jones, chief economist for Stewart Title, and reported on his mid-year outlook for the Houston real estate market. While that article was focused on Houston’s housing supply, real estate sales transactions and home values, this one will look at Houston’s rental market.
The rental market is of particular interest to people who are moving to Houston, since many prefer to lease rather than purchase a property.
For many newcomers, leasing a property affords them the ability to become more familiar with the Houston area before buying a home. For others, leasing allows them to remain somewhat mobile when they know that they will only be here for a designated amount of time before being sent to their next location.
For others still, leasing solves the problem of not being able to find a property to purchase right away, while still needing to settle quickly into Houston.
Thus, it is important for those who are interested in leasing a property, whether that is a home or an apartment, to be well educated about Houston’s rental market, and to be informed about some of the choices that will be available to them.
Much like the low inventory of properties available to purchase, there is also a low inventory of properties available for lease in the Houston area. Meanwhile, demand for rental properties remains high, placing more of the negotiation power in the hands of the landlords and apartment communities.
“We are always very busy during the summer,” said Suzanne Richards, an agent with Bernstein Realty. “All of a sudden, things became a little crazier this month with so many folks flooded out of their homes and in need of a place to stay, so finding properties to lease has become very challenging.”
Even though Houston is experiencing a very tight rental market, Richards said that it is important to point out that there are still properties available, and there are new ones coming on the market all the time.
Richards said that when it comes to her relocation clients, she finds it very helpful to explain the rental process to them up front, and make sure that they understand the documents and information they will need to provide when submitting a lease application to a prospective landlord.
For people who are moving to Houston from outside of the U.S., Richards said landlords typically ask for items such as copies of passports, visas and letters of employment. These documents are particularly important since most foreign nationals arrive in Houston without a U.S. credit history.
“In most cases, landlords are happy to have these expats in their homes and know that they will be good tenants, so not having a U.S. credit history isn’t always a bad thing,” Richards said.
Brandi Owens is an agent with Coldwell Banker United, Realtors. She said that there are many expats who are coming to Houston and will be here for two and three years on employmentbased assignments.
As such, their ability to obligate themselves to a longer lease term is something that is usually very attractive to landlords.
At the same time, there are many people moving to Houston who prefer to rent an apartment as opposed to a private residence. Owens said that even for apartment rentals, that working with an agent is very beneficial for the tenant, because of the market knowledge and experience that the agent brings to the process.
“A lot of people don’t think Realtors work with apartments, and that’s a huge misconception,” Owens said. “They also think that working with an agent may end up costing them more money, but it’s free for the tenant, and we always want to help them any way that we can.”
Owens added that agents typically know about different specials various complexes might be offering. For example, she said some complexes might offer a special for a 10-month lease that is less expensive for the tenant than signing a 12-month lease.
Another misconception that Owens mentioned had to do with paying the first month’s rent and security deposit. She said that many people assume that they can submit payment via credit or debit cards, which is not the case. She said apartment complexes and listing agents only take cashier’s checks.
As for the low availability of rental properties, Owens said that the best time to start looking for a place to rent is about 30 to 60 days before they are ready to move in.
“I tell my relocation clients not to get too far ahead of themselves, and that there will be something on the market within their time frame,” Owens said.
Michelle Sandlin is a writer, journalist and relocation industry expert. She serves on the Board of Houston Relocation Professionals (HRP), and was President of the organization in 2014. Follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMichelleSandlin and on Twitter: @MichelleSandlin. Also visit “On the Move — Exploring Houston Relocation with Michelle Sandlin” at blog.chron.com/onthemove. For questions and comments, email: michelle. sandlin@me.com.