Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/01/2016

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FOR-SALE HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS • We have identified nine larger townhome communities marketing in Ramsey that provide the majority of new for-sale housing units to the workforce population. These nine communities have a total of about 1,100 units, the majority of which are priced between$150,000 and $215,000. According to sales staff, these communities are largely marketing to the young first-time home buyers. Since 2003, these communities have combined for an average of about 20 to 25 units sold per month. • Several of these communities are located on the site of the Ramsey Town Center: The Gables at Town Center, Symphony at Town Center, Town Center Garden and Town Gardens. Combined these communities will provide nearly 550 homes priced between $150,000 and $215,000. When complete, Ramsey Town Center has potential for more than double this many units. • Development in the Market Area has been steadily increasing in recent years as the Metro Area expands outward. With available land supply closest to the core of the Metro Area dwindling, and as land prices increase, communities in the Market Area have become more of a destination for people seeking newer affordable homes - such as those listed in Table 17. • Within the Market Area, Ramsey is poised to capture a significant portion of the affordable townhome demand, as cities such as Coon Rapids, Anoka, and Champlin are becoming nearly fully developed. New housing in Blaine is becoming higher priced, and Andover's inventory of new townhome communities is decreasing. Ramsey has one of the greatest sup- ply of available land, which is also less costly than in other communities closer to the core of the Metro Area. • For purposes of the Livable Communities programs, the Metropolitan Council defines af- fordable ownership housing as housing that is affordable to buyers earning 80% of the area median income, or a home priced at$193,700 in 2005. Table 17 reveals that only about 45% of the units in the selected communities would be classified as affordable by Metropolitan Council. Based on this information, as well as overall housing construction data, we also es- timate that about 15% of the roughly 2,000 owner occupied homes built annually in the Mar- ket Area are affordable. MAXFIELD RESEARCH INC. 31