While developed for Los Angeles renters seeking apartments based on their budget, RentPath’s recently launched Neighborhood Finder could be just as beneficial to real estate agents.
The searchable interactive map allows users to search for apartments under the general criteria of price range and number of bedrooms. Once criteria is selected, real-time results fill in the map for each L.A. submarket.
Results are posted in three shades of blue, each indicating the odds that renter has of finding an apartment they can afford in various locales.
According to Blake Pierson, chief product officer at RentPath, rising rents in Los Angeles are forcing a large number of prospective renters to move out of the urban core and into more tertiary submarkets.
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This is where the searchable map can benefit agents.
In a number of these tertiary markets it may make sense for some renters to buy versus lease, as a monthly mortgage payment may be less than monthly rent. By using the map, agents can better determine if any of their listings are a cheaper alternative to nearby rentals, thus enabling them to better market certain listings to potential buyers.
The map could also represent a way for agents to better advise single-family investors looking to rent out homes in high-demand submarkets.
According to a recent Trulia report, mortgage rates would have to rise by 1.15 percent, assuming a current rate of 3.85 percent, for renting to become cheaper than buying in Los Angeles, suggesting submarkets exist where buying is a better option for those that can qualify for a 30-year mortgage.
Additionally, Los Angeles did not make the list of 10 ten markets where renting beats buying nationally.
