a quick question...

I think most people on this website would suggest determining fair value of a property based on the rental value and not the other way around. Rents tend to adjust more quickly to current market conditions than resale prices.

don't hide behind "most people." have your own convictions.
what would YOU say????? and what would that formula be???

woah, sorry man, I didn't mean to piss you off.

I've nerver heard of equating rent based on property value. jhochle is right, it's the other way around. What a property is worth is not really relevant to a tenant.

I agree.

Having said that it seems like 1/15 is a reasonable starting point.

i'm just kidding. no worries. i phrased the question incorrectly, so...
what i am looking for is a rough way to determine what a fair asking rent is for a property. how is that determined?

where? if it's manhattan i'd try and find rent per square foot statistics for the type of apt (i.e., 2/2), prior year, adjust for special circumstances (location, view, condition, how they deviate from standard), and then add 2% for yoy changes. or you could poke around for some comps.

i don't think it's an easy exercise, honestly.

By comps.

thx. i was just helping a friend and looking for rough numbers.
is 1/15 a "new" number or has that changd with recent declines in the market?

i have been out of the loop with this stuff for a while so can someone tell me:
- are rents still decreasing? or are they flat?
- roughly how far off of peak are they?
- are any concessions being offered?

any help is appreciated.

My own personal observations is that rents are flat from April, still down a bit from last June, and about 20-30% from the peak. The better apartments are holding up, and crap that was renting just a bit cheaper than the best is now much cheaper. I don't see that many concessions, but if you walk in without a broker, a management company might give you 2 weeks or a month free. In essence, the seasonality is erasing the downward pressure for the summer.