Strapped Home Owners Turn to Renting
September 4, 2009 – Rentals are rising in Greenwich, Conn., a town synonymous with luxury housing.
The housing market in this pricey community is in trouble. Single-family sales in Greenwich declined 48 percent to 167 this year through July, according to Shore & Country, based in Greenwich.
As a result of this downturn, the number of single-family properties for sale in Greenwich rose 600 percent this year. More than 525 homes were rented or listed for rent through August, according to Eric Biork, sales director for Prudential Connecticut Realty.
Mark Hanson, president of M. Hanson Advisors, a housing and mortgage research company in Menlo Park, Calif., was critical of sellers who chose to rent instead of dropping the prices.
“It’s really doing nothing but delaying the inevitable,” Hanson said. “These houses are not going to double in price.”
