High demand of renters spurs property growth

Shreveport-Bossier may be in a rental property boom. Developers are reacting to high demands from renters. Whether it's for houses or apartments, the number of Shreveport-Bossier renters looking for homes has increased. Realtor Rhonda Bowman says her agency gets dozens of calls from renters a day. She say's most are looking for houses and are afraid they can't finance a mortgage.

"They just think its harder to buy a house," Bowman said. "Like I had an open house Sunday and they were amazed at how much their house note would be as to what they are paying for rent."

Bowman says several renters can actually afford a mortgage if they take the chance. That's not keeping them from rentals. Kristen Brown with Brown Builders says demand for apartments is high, which has spurred the developer to add more units to complexes.

"The rental market's been really good for us," Brown said. "There's been a real high demand for multifamily apartments."

Brown says around a hundred units will be added to the Jamestown apartment complex in South Bossier City. Says other developers have started to build.

"Developers, who have seen how well we've done over the last couple of years, they've got a couple of projects slated to go online within the next six to eight months," Brown said.

Realtor Rhonda Bowman says, in some cases, renters can save hundreds by getting a mortgage.