Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/01/2016

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RENTAL HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS • In general, the newer rental facilities all have comparable amenities. The most notable dif- ferences between some are found in the building features. Most of the facilities offer com- munity and recreational space. The three that stand out are Westminster Apartments, Cham- plin Drive, and Elm Creek. Only one of these three facilities has a community room and none of them have either a pool or an exercise room. • Similar to the newer facilities, the older rental facilities offer comparable amenities to each other. There are three that stand out(Lincoln Estates, Parkview Estates, and Meadowview Apartments) and that is only due to lack of a pool. • As far as unit features are concerned,there are very few differences between the older and newer facilities. The most noticeable differences are seen in the presence of washer/dryer availability and walk-in closets found in some of the newer facilities. • Consistently, the presence of community and recreational rooms are what separates the newer facilities from the older facilities. Community rooms and exercise rooms are found more prominently in the newer facilities. • In addition to rental communities, there are some for-sale townhome communities in the Market Area with units that are rented. We identified one such community in Ramsey— Evergreen Pointe, owned by First Select Equities. Of the 110 total townhomes, 79 are rented. Rents range from$1,100 to $1,300 for a two-bedroom to $1,300 to $1,500 for a three-bedroom. Currently, there is only one vacancy, although there were more vacancies over the Winter months. The demand shown for the units at Evergreen Pointe indicates that a rental apartment could be successful in Ramsey as well. Summary — Rental Housing Market Analysis The review of the competitive rental market condition revealed the following characteristics hav- ing the most direct impact on the potential for new workforce rental housing in Ramsey: • The extremely low vacancy rate of subsidized/affordable units in the Market Area indicates a strong need for rental housing for very low-income households. Supply has not kept up with demand, as there has been very little development of income-restricted rental housing in the Market Area (most communities were built before 1981). • The vacancy rate is also low for market rate units, indicating the need for rental housing for moderate-income households. The rents at most existing market rate communities in the Market Area are affordable to workforce households. As the younger population in the Mar- ket Area grows this decade, fueled by employment growth and the aging of the echo boom- ers, there will be increased demand for rental units to satisfy the housing needs of new entry- level workers who are not yet in a position to purchase housing. MAXFIELD RESEARCH INC. 44