Rental market helps South Florida housing

An improving rental market is helping South Florida’s residential sales market, according to Zillow.com. The Zillow Rent Index showed rental rate growth in each of South Florida’s three counties in January compared to the same period in 2011, the Sun Sentinel reported. “A thriving rental market will stimulate home sales as investors snap up low-priced inventory to convert to rentals,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. [Sun Sentinel]