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Re:What Happens If Housing Prices Fall 20%? by dudzik on Tuesday December 13, 2022 @01:12PM (#33973148)
The fall in house prices will probably not affect the prices of rental units. The cost of acquiring a home should be roughly the same, considering an increase in interest rates.

Rental prices might fall if people are forced to sell their houses at lower prices. In my area, people buy houses on 30-year mortgages with variable rates and require an in-law suite to finance it partially. The margins are so thin that I encountered people who had to sell their homes because of increased property taxes.

Re:What Happens If Housing Prices Fall 20%? by exceptione on Tuesday December 13, 2022 @01:27PM (#33973437)
> Rental prices might fall if people are forced to sell their houses at lower prices.

How? I think the bank will just sell the house, possibly for a lower price then the market value. Then, the previous owners need to rent somewhere. As there are less people able to pay a mortgage, the more people need to rent.

Re:What Happens If Housing Prices Fall 20%? by dudzik on Tuesday December 13, 2022 @01:42PM (#33973692)
Good point. If someone is forced to sell their house and stays in the same area, rental prices should stay the same because demand remains the same. What would happen if an investor living elsewhere is forced to sell?
Re:What Happens If Housing Prices Fall 20%? by exceptione on Wednesday December 14, 2022 @04:14AM (#33981504)
If someone is forced to sell their house and stays in the same area, rental prices should go up I would say.

As seemingly everywhere around the globe interest rates have gone up, the influx of new home buyers have gone down. Those people have to compete with each other at the rental market. Unless your country is able to create a new big supply of rental homes to somewhat balance the market, the rental price is definitely not stable, but trending upwards.

In the Netherlands we are getting stricter rental controls to keep the rental price to not increase that much. Some people are sitting between a rock and a hard place now: not able to buy, not able to save due to high rents.