Landlords across America are being forced to cut the rent on houses due to weakening demand. Especially here in Florida where rent growth is declining and big corporate investors like Blackstone and Starwood Capital are beginning to sell.
Declining rents is a big problem for these investors, because the property tax bills and insurance costs for these rentals are skyrocketing. Meaning that the rental and cash yield is dropping.
This is occurring at a time when mortgage and interest rates have spiked. Meaning that real estate investors like Invitation Homes, Blackstone, and Progress Residential are beginning to see their margins squeezed.
The result has been a big increase in homes for sale all across Florida, especially in metros like Tampa-St. Pete, Lakeland, Orlando, and Sarasota. The investors in many of these markets are selling out near the top of the market before the downturn gets worse.