> There's a massive surplus in the Boston/Cambridge/Arlington market right now, thanks to cheap money (low interest rates on mortgages). If that is the case, l

> There's a massive surplus in the Boston/Cambridge/Arlington market right now, thanks to cheap money (low interest rates on mortgages). If that is the case, landlords are leaving money on the table. > That's before considering the optional upgrades that people tend to do to owned houses that they don't do to rentals. (A functional kitchen in a rental is a functional kitchen. A functional kitchen in a house is a drive to install granite countertops, subway tile, and stainless steel appliances. Scratched wood floors and 5-year old beige paint are fine in a rental, etc.) That is a separate issue, though I think someone who is not disciplined enough to avoid vanity upgrades to their property is probably not disciplined enough to maintain a significant investment balance either. Edit: Just took a quick look at Cambridge on realtor.com, and I would classify that as a textbook out-of-whack market. The rents are stupid low compared to the sale listing prices. In contrast, rents in my part of northern New Jersey are roughly the same, but sale prices are less than half. Hell, even Manhattan isn't that out-of-whack. I don't think you should be taking that as typical.