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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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).

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