What do you mean…I can’t rent out my condo?
Condos aren’t common (yet) in Spokane real estate, condos for sale in Spokane represent less than 5% of all Spokane homes for sale.
However, for those that choose to purchase a condo as their Spokane real estate investment, this is an important topic.
A client of mine, who purchased a condo about a year ago, wrote to me today asking about limiting the percentage of condo units that can be used as rentals to 10%:
A neighbor of came by and had a petition to sign - that would limit the percentage of condos that could be rented — to ten percent of the total number of condos.
At first thought, it sounded good to me because it prevents the neighborhood from deteriorating with ever-increasing numbers of rental units. However, on second thought, I wondered: If that’s such a good idea, why permit even ten percent? Why not vote to prohibit rentals altogether?
The rub, as I see it, is that after the first ten percent of owners eventually rent their condos out - then effectively virtually nobody else can do it regardless of unexpected circumstances or need. But, what would I do if I were transferred to another job location and forced to move - and found I could not sell at a reasonable price because of some downturn in the resale value of the condo?
I’m conflicted over the pros and cons of this issue - so I’m really curious about your take on it. I fully appreciate how dreadful it would be to have 1/2 the condos eventually turned into rentals. All the riff-raff would make the condo little different from living in an apartment - and that would obviously torpedo the resale value of the units.
On the other hand, I dislike the idea that the first 10% of condo owners to rent their units out, are free to do so if it suits them - but then the gangplank is pulled up and for all practical purposes nobody else can do it - even if there was an unexpected and important need….
What’s your take on this interesting conundrum?
My Response: It’s a good policy…
As far as a 10% cap on rentals, I tend to agree with it. My experience is Read more
Spokane Real Estate Market Update June 2008
Our Spokane real estate market according to the Spokane Association of Realtors
What the Spokane Association of Realtors says about Spokane Real Estate:
There were 489 sales reported in May compared to 441 reported in April. The average sales price was up 1.3% from April. May’s average sales price was $206,284 while the median sales price was $183,000.”
Again, here is what the MLS data tells us….
When we look at the Spokane MLS Real Estate statistics, what are we really looking at?
Everything. Every property type. Every city within the MLS. Which is why I don’t like using the MLS stats. Generally, when we discuss the Spokane real estate market, I want to know about single-family homes in and around Spokane, not in Colville, Spangle, etc. Not condos. Not 120 acre parcels. Nothing wrong with these communities or property types, but I want to know about, analyze and discuss Spokane houses.
Read also: Spokane Real Estate statistics explanation
So, let’s look at Spokane houses (a subset of the Spokane Real Estate MLS data), as of June 9th, 2008:
(The footnote states: Includes sales data from Spokane, Spokane Valley, Millwood, Veradale, Liberty Lake, Medical Lake & Airway Heights on Single Family Houses on <= 1 acre.)
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