Any other landlords noticing huge drops in rent??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How have you improved the property since 2019?

No improvements since 2019, but a full-scale renovation was done shortly before that. I don't want to out myself by getting into too many specifics about my property, but suffice to say, I believe the higher prices were justified and the market bore that out for years.

But yes, it's definitely possible that my property getting hit because it is on the expensive side may not mean anything for the broader market. That's why I was interested in the observations of other landlords in the area.

[Anonymous]

I mean ... I'm an "accidental landlord" as well, and had no problem recently renting out my FCC house for $4500. I would never spend 4k on a condo.

[Anonymous]

This is a good thing. Random condos without some amazing view or a penthouse should not cost 4000/mo. I'm glad they keep building apartments. Gotta have a place for regular folk to live.

Also a big effect is not the apartments building built in MoCo (which aren't actually that many), but the massive amounts of construction in DC and NoVA. At $4000/mo you could live on the Wharf or in Rosslyn with a view. (either a very nice 1 bd or a decent 2bd without a view).

[Anonymous]

Yes, demand in DC and rent increase is pretty consistent. Same in NoVa since there are a lot of new jobs there. Most of the properties I am seeing in Nova and even Stafford are seeing increase in rent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a good thing. Random condos without some amazing view or a penthouse should not cost 4000/mo. I'm glad they keep building apartments. Gotta have a place for regular folk to live.

Also a big effect is not the apartments building built in MoCo (which aren't actually that many), but the massive amounts of construction in DC and NoVA. At $4000/mo you could live on the Wharf or in Rosslyn with a view. (either a very nice 1 bd or a decent 2bd without a view).

Yeah,
This is a very good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an “accidental landlord” with just one rental property in MoCo. It’s now been on the market for 4.5 months with a series of price decreases.

I initially listed it at $4,050/month, which was reasonable because my last tenant was paying $3,975/month. However, I think in the next few days I am going to have to lower it again from $3,300/month to $3,200/month, which is the exact rate it rented for in 2019—think how much inflation there has been since then!

I’ve also noticed a marked decline in the quality of potential tenants. I’ve gotten so many inquiries from people with substandard credit scores that I now review/reiterate the qualification requirements before doing a showing. The potential tenants that do seem qualified are asking for discounts and almost seem offended that I wouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet for them. I’ve been renting out this property for eight years, and i’ve never seen this before.

My unit is a condo, and tons of new buildings have been going up in MoCo—I wonder if that’s part of it. More generally, are any other landlords noticing similar issues? Are we actually in a recession, but the media can’t report on it because of the election?

It seems that home *prices* have been holding up in the area, so I wonder if there is something going on in the rental market that has been masked by the relatively benign state of home sales. Or maybe it’s something specific to my unit/building/specific location.

Either way, this is very concerning, so can any other landlords share what they’re seeing?

You could get a SFH for that rent! I would never pay $4K to rent a condo in MoCo.
A condo and not a new condo at that does not get top rental income. There are many options for rentals on the market so renters have options.

yea my mortgage on my 4 bedroom bethesda house is 3400... so 4k for a condo sounds crazy. yes i got lucky in that i bought in 2020 and then refinanced 6 months later rather than buying in 2023... but you also well before 2020 and presumably also refinanced in 2020 for the <2.5 rates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have you improved the property since 2019?

No improvements since 2019, but a full-scale renovation was done shortly before that. I don't want to out myself by getting into too many specifics about my property, but suffice to say, I believe the higher prices were justified and the market bore that out for years.

But yes, it's definitely possible that my property getting hit because it is on the expensive side may not mean anything for the broader market. That's why I was interested in the observations of other landlords in the area.

Your condo building is at least 10 years old if you have done a full scale renovation. Even a 5 year old renovation on a $4k condo in MoCo is too old. But I’m sure tenants see the wear on your building, and more and more owners are renting out the building so will oppose assessments for upgrades and renewals. Every condo does this and become class B except marque property like the Watergate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an “accidental landlord” with just one rental property in MoCo. It’s now been on the market for 4.5 months with a series of price decreases.

I initially listed it at $4,050/month, which was reasonable because my last tenant was paying $3,975/month. However, I think in the next few days I am going to have to lower it again from $3,300/month to $3,200/month, which is the exact rate it rented for in 2019—think how much inflation there has been since then!

I’ve also noticed a marked decline in the quality of potential tenants. I’ve gotten so many inquiries from people with substandard credit scores that I now review/reiterate the qualification requirements before doing a showing. The potential tenants that do seem qualified are asking for discounts and almost seem offended that I wouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet for them. I’ve been renting out this property for eight years, and i’ve never seen this before.

My unit is a condo, and tons of new buildings have been going up in MoCo—I wonder if that’s part of it. More generally, are any other landlords noticing similar issues? Are we actually in a recession, but the media can’t report on it because of the election?

It seems that home *prices* have been holding up in the area, so I wonder if there is something going on in the rental market that has been masked by the relatively benign state of home sales. Or maybe it’s something specific to my unit/building/specific location.

Either way, this is very concerning, so can any other landlords share what they’re seeing?

Also, why not just sell if you are accidental?

[Anonymous]

You might as well get an apartment for much less as a renter. Market is what is someone is willing to pay, not what you demand. How many people can afford that in rent and if they can they will just go buy a house.

[Anonymous]

Agree with what was said. For 4k you can get a very nice apartment in one of the newer buildings along the orange line in Arlington. I would always pick that over an older building in MoCo. Is your condo at least particularly large? Does it have more than 2 bedrooms? Outside space?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have you improved the property since 2019?

No improvements since 2019, but a full-scale renovation was done shortly before that. I don't want to out myself by getting into too many specifics about my property, but suffice to say, I believe the higher prices were justified and the market bore that out for years.

But yes, it's definitely possible that my property getting hit because it is on the expensive side may not mean anything for the broader market. That's why I was interested in the observations of other landlords in the area.

To be fair, the increase from $3200 in 2019 to your last rent of $3975 was a 25% increase in less than four years. That’s not really sustainable. I suspect your $3975 tenant came in during some crazy Covid times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an “accidental landlord” with just one rental property in MoCo. It’s now been on the market for 4.5 months with a series of price decreases.

I initially listed it at $4,050/month, which was reasonable because my last tenant was paying $3,975/month. However, I think in the next few days I am going to have to lower it again from $3,300/month to $3,200/month, which is the exact rate it rented for in 2019—think how much inflation there has been since then!

I’ve also noticed a marked decline in the quality of potential tenants. I’ve gotten so many inquiries from people with substandard credit scores that I now review/reiterate the qualification requirements before doing a showing. The potential tenants that do seem qualified are asking for discounts and almost seem offended that I wouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet for them. I’ve been renting out this property for eight years, and i’ve never seen this before.

My unit is a condo, and tons of new buildings have been going up in MoCo—I wonder if that’s part of it. More generally, are any other landlords noticing similar issues? Are we actually in a recession, but the media can’t report on it because of the election?

It seems that home *prices* have been holding up in the area, so I wonder if there is something going on in the rental market that has been masked by the relatively benign state of home sales. Or maybe it’s something specific to my unit/building/specific location.

Either way, this is very concerning, so can any other landlords share what they’re seeing?

While I understand that this is "very concerning" *for you*, rents coming down is widely regarding as good for the populace and the economy as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Our mortgage payment on a 3br/2.5 SFH in a great neighborhood is 3700/m. Not sure why you thought you could rent your property for over 4k. You got lucky with your last renters, perhaps, but you’ll need to adjust your expectations to find good renters.

[Anonymous]

It’s not apples to apples comparing OP’s rent to a SFH. Many renters have zero interest in renting a SFH because they want the amenities of a building and don’t want to deal with landscaping maintenance.

Seems that if 2BRs in nice downtown Bethesda buildings are only $2850…well, you never say how large your unit, where exactly it is located, what amenities of the complex, etc.

[Anonymous]

Your rental is overpriced for MoCo OP. I’ve been scouring rentals all over the region and the only apartment/condos getting $4k+ are very large (3 bedroom) or in close-in DC in newer metro accessible developments. Even assuming you are right on top of the Bethesda metro, that’s a lot for a 2 bedroom condo.