Mamta Badkar | Jan. 16, 2012, 12:57 PM | Original
It still looks to be a buyer's market rather than a rental one, according to the latest data released by HotPads.com. The rental price for 2-bedroom units jumped 3.75% in 2011, compared to a 1.83% fall in sale prices across the top-20 most populated metros in the U.S.
We drew on the median rental and sale prices of 2 bedroom units, and the rent ratio for each of these 20 metros to distinguish renters' markets from buyers' markets. Typically, a lower rent ratio would signal a buyer's market.
Based on the findings, New York was a buyer's market in 2011, compared with Los Angeles which was a renter's market.
Note: The rent ratio is calculated by dividing the median home sale price by the 12-month median rent. All data is for two-bedroom homes.
