Valley realtor notices an uptick in rental properties on the market

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Finding a home to rent in the Valley may be a bit easier compared to this time last year. A Valley-based realtor says the long-term rental market appears to be growing.

According to Shelley Sakala with the Sakala Group Real Estate Team, as of Monday afternoon there were nearly 3,000 active listings in the Valley. She says that’s an 18% increase from last month, and a 113% increase from the same time last year.

“You’re also going to see a lot of people that are you know, waiting for the market to crash, which we are not thinking is going to be a crash whatsoever,” Sakala said. “But they’re kind of hanging around some of these investors hoping it’ll crash hoping to pick up some properties and then they’re in turn going to turn and use them as rental. So in that case it will create some more rentals for the area.”

In terms of pricing, Sakala says Paradise Valley and Scottsdale zip codes have the highest average rent when looking over numbers from the last three months.

If you do have to rent, Sakala says find a place that you think you want to live. Look at it as you’re kind of exploring the area. If you’re from out of state, she suggests getting to know what you really like and figure out where you want to buy.

“The more homes available, obviously, the lower the prices are going to be,” she said. “So my opinion... the outlook looks good from that standpoint, but we are still an area that continues to have lots and lots and lots of people moving here daily. Maricopa county has nearly 300 people or so, give or take.”

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