It is widely accepted that rent amounts are a fundamental factor in determining the value of housing. If housing prices rise too far out of line with rents, a combination of declines in home values and increases in rent amounts will ultimately occur and enable these two averages to correct back toward each other. Although this relationship between housing values and rents has endured the many peaks and valleys of past real estate cycles, the events of the years from 1996 to 2006 strained this interconnection to unprecedented extents. However, just as gravity causes objects to eventually fall to the earth, subsequent years have shown that this correlation between housing prices and rent is destined to survive.

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