Rental Comps
Are ther any web sites that allow a person to search for rental comps, nationally?
No, but darn near. Craigslist for rent ads have photos, so you can see what the quality is at that rental range.
I can't vouch for the reliability of it, but you may also want to check out http://rentometer.com -- It seems to throw up pretty good comps for the area i live in (Brooklyn, NY). Your mileage may vary.
I find rentometer tends to be bit on the high side in our area. But its a quick and easy check. The problem is that it isn't very detailed. It doesn't account for the property size, garage or bathrooms. Good way to get an idea, though. Then, start grubbing through craigslist.
Another source is to find the Section 8 agency for the area and find their standard rates. These tend to be above market, but will also give you an idea.
how about some of these:
http://www.zilpy.com/
this one does a bit more, but it can get rents (I think they are off the MLS):
http://www.finestexpert.com/
http://www.mynewplace.com/
Rob,
I have an average rental tool which doesn't do comps but it might give you an idea of the average rent in your area based on # of rooms and type.
I hope that helps you.
Dave
Comparing the list Denver on that site to what I get for my rentals, what people I know who are renting (in nicer areas) are paying, and what I know others are getting, those rents in the list seem very high to me. I realize they are averages, but since most rentals are at the lower end, I don't see how the few high end rentals can possibly bring the average up that high.
Jon,
Perhaps you are right since my average rent numbers are based only on the listing rental price and not the actual negotiated price.
Most of the property managers that I talk to use all these sites to help guide them went coming up with a rental price. I hope adding my tool to the mix of other ones can help them out even more by adding another data point.
Dave
I just noticed that my "Influence" for my profile is a -31. Ouch! I guess I started off on the wrong foot here even though I have been a member for awhile.
Looks like I have some work to do to get my karma ranking up to neutral. :)
Thanks for all of the input. I'll check out the sites that were recommended.
This is old school. But it worked when I wanted to find out about a new area.
I pulled up a list of Non Owner occupied homes in the area. I just did random searches of 10 homes and cross check them with property appraisers to see if similar home along with WHITE PAGES. I would then call the people and told them I was doing a rental survey and I would give them my informaiton of what I found out. I actually got results.
It was something that I picked up from some GURU like a dozen years ago or so.
It took time, but I actually talked to people that I could find.
At that time I did not have access to MLS and Craigslist in my area was usless as it is today.
HTH
I've always found craigslist to be pretty informative and its easy to navigate.
If nothing shows up there for your area, i'd call management companies or start knocking on doors.
I've been using Craigslist. I created a big spreadsheet where I put info like what rent they were asking, condition, year built of house, if there's a pool, square feet of house, if lawn care is included, etc. I made a separate column for zip code so that I can sort by zip.
I also went into the public records for my county to see what price the house was bought for, and if it's cash flowing for the current landlord.
I haven't been able to put my data to practical use yet, but I think it will be a good way to compare apples to apples when it comes time to set my rents, and whether to buy.
Originally posted by Rob Beeman:
Are ther any web sites that allow a person to search for rental comps, nationally?
I have been using Google Maps.
Type in address or city or zip code or whatever into Google Maps. To the right of the search bar it says "other search options" - select Real Estate. A new window will appear in a "frame" to the left and select "For Rent".
Puts many rentals on the map with little red dots - hover on each dot and see the asking rent.
JCC, thanks for the tip. I just tried googlemaps and it is pretty cool! It shows the proximity to the property in comparison with the comps, and details/pictures on the comps. Thanks!
I've been doing some work to find comps quickly (without spending hours manually reviewing listings). I just came across housingmaps.com. Nice tool that mixes craigslist postings with Google Maps to lay them out on a map.
Rentometer also looks like a great site, but the comps seem to be a little high. Can't beat the interface though!
This thread is quite old. Any other good places to gather comp data these days?