The dreaded “For Rent” sign

Here’s a sure sign that the housing market is struggling: Walk through your neighborhood. Have all those “For Sale” signs you used to see become “For Rent” signs?

Then you know there’s trouble in the housing market.

Owners only turn “For Sale” signs into “For Rent” signs when they’ve given up hope of finding a good buyer for their properties.

I noticed this the other day when walking through my own neighborhood. It’s especially glaring at one house in particular. This is a home that a builder purchased and gut renovated. It’s beautiful on the inside; I know because the builder showed me through it.

But all that hard work has resulted in zero solid offers.

So last week? The builder’s “For Sale” sign was replaced by a “For Rent” sign.

There are many ways to gauge just how tough sellers have it. The “For Rent” signs are a dramatic one.