We are one of the millions of people who rent their home. Last month our lease was due for renewal. So before going in to discuss any term changes on the lease, I decided to do a little homework.

The Wall Street Journal has had, this year, several articles stating that apartment vacancies were at a 30 year high. 2009 ended with the vacancy rate of 8%.

CNN Money.com reported that rents are going down on the average of 3% per rental unit.

Bloomberg Business Week ran a story stating landlords everywhere are getting more creative (and desperate) to hold down vacancies and prevent renter turnover.

Then I checked Craigslist, Z Idaho.com, and Rented Spaces for equivalent rentals. I wanted to our to see how much they were being rented.

This way I could go into the property management office with some expectations. If they want to raise our rent, they are saying they would like us to move. If they keep our rent the same, they don’t really care if we stay or move. If they lower our rent, they would like us to stay.

We are good renter. We pay our rent on time. Other than pay our rent the only time the people in the property management office sees or hears from us is when there is a major issue, like the water heater going out.

With the research I have done, I believe it is a reasonable expectation to get our rent lowered by 3%. The research I did on the renters market nationally and locally support this I know it is hard for landlord’s to get good tenants. Plus there is time the apartment is empty, no rent being collected. And then there is the added expense of getting the apartment ready for the next tenant.

The day before I was going to go in armed to negotiate for 3% lower rent, my wife stopped by the rental office. They asked her to sign next year’s lease. She promptly called me, before signing.

To my surprise they were giving us an 7.7% reduction in rent, in addition to having our carpets cleaned for free. WoW!!! They really want us to stay!

Naturally, I told my wife to go ahead and sign the lease. I would be in the next day to put my John Hancock on it.

See it is really a renter’s market.

Tags: Bloomberg Business Week, CNN Money.com, Craigslist, rental, Rented Spaces, Renting, The Wall Street Journal, Z Idaho.com