by Tim Storm | Jan 7, 2016 | Conventional Loan
There are many benefits to homeownership in Orange County, CA. One of the top ones is being able to protect yourself from rising rents and lock in your housing cost for the life of your mortgage. Rents have increased quickly over the past few years in Orange County, CA which is leaving many renters feeling trapped. They feel as though they have missed out on low prices and are not sure whether to wait for prices to drop again (will that happen any time soon) or move inland, like to the Inland Empire (Riverside or San Bernardino county). Don’t Become Trapped Renting in Orange County Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com recently reported on what he calls a “Rental Affordability Crisis”. He warns that, “Low rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction are pushing up rents, and we expect that they’ll outpace home price appreciation in the year ahead.” This is especially true in Orange County. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently released their 2015 Report on Rental Housing, in which they reported that 49% of rental households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. These households struggle to save for a rainy day and pay other bills, such as food and healthcare. It’s Cheaper to Buy Than Rent In Smoke’s article, he went on to say, “Housing is central to the health and well-being of our country and our local communities. In addition, this (rental affordability) crisis threatens the future value of owned housing, as the burdensome level of rents will trap more aspiring owners into...
