I just finished compiling the rental rates on our property management site. The numbers weren't particularly impressive, this is Colorado Springs and our rates tend to move more like a tugboat as opposed to a race boat.

The thing that really stood out to me was the trend for larger properties to lease rather quickly. In the past larger lease homes tended to linger on the market for a while. The sweet spot in the Colorado Springs Rental market has always been the 3 bedroom single family home.

Beginning in April of 2011 we started to see larger homes (5 or more bedrooms) lease and at a brisk rate. In talking with the people I show our listings to they are generally people that never thought they'd rent again but due to the economy and the current real estate market they find themselves having to rent and needing a lot of bedrooms.

I think this signals a big opportunity for any homeowner sitting on a vacant home for sale. This also seems like something banks might take a look at as well.