The age-old question of renting versus buying has been asked for generations now, and while now is definitely a buyer’s market, some in the marketplace are choosing to rent instead – including, surprisingly, celebrities.
With all the advantages of buying – cheap interest rates and readily-available discounted homes – you would think celebrities of all people would choose to purchase a home outright instead of rent. But as model and Twilight star Kellan Lutz demonstrates, renting is definitely a choice.
Recently it was revealed that Lutz – who has played heartthrob vampire Emmett Cullen in the Twilight movie franchise, with some fashion modeling on the side – started renting a 2,400 square-foot pad in Venice, California. The home, complete with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, costs $7,250 a month – a hefty fee for most middle-class Americans but probably not too high a rent for someone who can afford to live in Venice.
The location isn’t bad either, being mere blocks from popular Venice Beach. Why Lutz chose to rent while he still apparently owns a $715,000 home in Van Nuys is a mystery, but then again, what celebrities do with their time and wheelbarrows of money is their concern.
Lutz’s decision to rent is an interesting case that indicates certain things about the market in general, particularly in coastal locations. Beach communities took a hit in the early years of the housing crisis because many of the properties that were owned were in fact rentals being used as secondary homes. When the belt-tightening of the housing crash took place, many of these homes were left vacant.
Now, though, typical vacation-style communities and other places similar to Venice (like many coastal communities in Florida, the Carolinas, etc.) are coming back. Plus, rentals as a whole are surging as families look for more temporary lodging – often a result of losing their home in foreclosure.
Of course, one has to be careful trying to draw too many conclusions about the real estate market from one celebrity’s real estate ventures. But the rental market is so good, even celebrities are becoming landlords – like Diane Keaton, Orlando Bloom, and Meg Ryan.
These celebrities – and Mr. Lutz – do not usually have to resort to foreclosures to find great deals. But that only means there’s less competition for non-celebrity investors – i.e. the rest of us – when it comes to converting foreclosures to rentals.
If the celebrities are doing it, it just might be a good idea.
(Image Sources: RealEstalker)
