Their hope, of course, is that they can attract price-sensitive, low-maintenance users disgusted with the rate increases from the national players.

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About two-thirds of its sales are attributable to multiyear maintenance, repair and operations contracts, with an average annual retention rate for these contracts since 2000 running at 95%.

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Ownership costs were tallied over five years, consisting of sales tax (a national average of 4.9%), depreciation, fuel costs, interest (a five-year loan with a 15% down payment and an average interest rate of 6.8%), insurance, maintenance and repairs.

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If you are renting, calculate a capitalization rate, and subtract 10% or more of the annual yield for maintenance and depreciation.

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Goldmacher figures maintenance has grown organically, in constant currency, at a two year compound annual growth rate of 10%.

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Boeing said while the replacement rate was "slightly higher" than usual, the changes were "routine maintenance" and were not due to any safety issues.

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New construction has produced a glut of homes, and net rental yields (after maintenance and letting costs) have been driven down to 2%, far below the 7% mortgage rate.

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What nongovernment entity is going to lay out the necessary billions of dollars if politically minded state rate-setters won't let them recover both the capital outlay and the true cost of maintenance, not to mention earning a decent return for shareholders and creditors?

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The home improvement market, which includes maintenance and improvement spending of both rentals and owner-occupied units, promises to rise at an inflation-adjusted rate of 3.5% per year in the coming years, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

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