Earlier this year, Ray Purser put his two-bedroom Montrose-area condo on the market for $237,000. He figured it would sell within three or four weeks because it's in a newer building with nice views and just down the street from where a new Whole Foods is being built.
After two months and no takers, Purser decided to list the condo for rent, and the calls started pouring in. In two weeks he had a tenant.
"It's sort of a sign of the economic times," said Purser, who works in government and public relations for Comcast. "People are a little nervous, perhaps, about buying a home."
Indeed, sluggish home sales seem to be benefiting at least one segment of the housing market: rentals.
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Leases on Houston-area single-family homes jumped 13.6 percent in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2009, according to data from the Houston Association of Realtors. Townhouse and condo rentals increased 22.5 percent.
"The rental market has taken a big jump," said Margie Dorrance, the association's chair and principal at Keller Williams