By Mark Pruner
Dashboard Editor
One thing that buyers, particularly investor buyers, and sellers want to know is what my property would rent for. Some people think that the high end rental market, over $10,000 per month, has been growing, as homeowners switch from selling their property to renting it. We are up slightly in high-end rentals this year, but as discussed below there may be another reason for this slight rise in rentals this year. So except for this year the post-recession, high-end rental market has remained remarkably stable since 2010.
Now, you would think that the summer renters would want to rent on Long Island Sound, and they do; but these summer rentals, which have historically represented about an eighth of our high-end rentals, are equally scattered throughout quiet areas of mid-country and backcountry as people, usually New Yorkers, want to get away from the City’s summer heat and noise.
The high-end rentals are not evenly distributed by price. We have had 564 rentals over $10,000 since 2011, but only 96 rentals over $20,000 per month, and more than a third of these very high-end rentals were summer rentals.
At present, our highest active rental is a summer rental for $100,000 at 40 Walsh Lane available till right after Labor Day. As you get over $20,000 the prices go up pretty quickly, so if you are in a tight price range, say $22,000 to $24,000, you have a choice of only three listings.
Over $20,000 rentals
The over $20,000 per month market has also been surprisingly consistent, with about 15 rentals a year plus or minus one or two rentals. The average price has been $28,800, but here the price range has been more variable, probably due to the small number of very high end rentals. Days on market also have varied more year to year due to this smaller sample size, but has averaged out to the same 90 days on market over the last six years as the over $10,000-per-month listings.
The house sizes are around 8,400 square feet, and acreage is all over the place as renters tend to care less about the size of the lot than do owners. The 18 active listings that we have are scattered along the coast and in the mid-country and backcountry.
As with everything these days, price is crucial in these high-end rentals—but the renters are out there.
Mark Pruner is an agent with Douglas Elliman.
MARK PRUNER
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
REAL ESTATE
DIRECT: 203.969.7900
OFFICE: 203.622.4900
MOBILE: 203.969.7900
mark.pruner@elliman.com
88 FIELD POINT RD GREENWICH, CT 06830
