A weekend topic starting with the Gunnison Times in Colorado. “Despite a valleywide housing crisis that has hit both residents and local businesses, 41% of housing units in Gunnison County are considered vacant, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The high vacancy percentage is similar across other mountain resort and recreation-centered communities in Colorado. Gunnison was just ahead of Pitkin County, whose housing stock was reported at 39% vacant. Ouray sits at 31%, Summit at 58%, Eagle at 37%, San Miguel at 45% and Hinsdale, with the highest vacancy rate in the state of Colorado at 71%.”
The Hot Springs Record in Arkansas. In the span of several months, the city went from no regulations on short-term residential rental businesses to a 12-page ordinance establishing a comprehensive regulatory scheme, a time frame that has alarmed short-term rental owner. The owners questioned why the amended ordinance doubled the annual business tax, explaining that the tax, coupled with the cost of annual inspections for compliance with building and fire codes, could be cost-prohibitive for many STR providers. Several said their rental income only covers their overhead costs, which until a few months ago didn’t include the annual business tax and inspection fees.”
“Many have questioned the need for regulations, given that self-regulation is a feature of the STR industry.”
The Red Rock News in Arizona. “The Sedona City Council voted to hire a lobbyist to work on behalf of the city to help pass legislation to regulate vacation rentals. They have been working on this issue for five years … to what success? Let’s review. A bill allowing taxation — the city wins cash; residents get nothing. A bill requiring vacation rental owners to have their contact information on file — speeds up police contacting properties owners; residents get nothing. Limits on ‘party’ houses — owners lose revenue; residents get nothing.”
“Not surprisingly, this legislation was written by the short-term rental companies’ lobbyists so they could claim ‘regulation’ but not rectify one iota of the horrendous damage vacation rentals have done to residential neighborhoods in Sedona and other small towns with limited housing markets.”
From County Live in Canada. “A study from McGill University on the effects of short-term accommodations on the housing market indicates the COVID-19 pandemic second home sales were the drivers of the high priced housing and rental market – more so than STAs. However, McGill Professor David Wachsmuth, a global leading expert on the subject, says a solution to creating more affordable housing here is to prioritize principle residence STAs so that revenue is earned by local families and reduce or eliminate grandfathering.”
“Wachsmuth stated up to half of home sales were turned into STAs about five years ago. That number he notes has since fallen to about 25 per cent, last year. The County’s situation, he noted, is unique, stating that reservations at STAs dropped about 25 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic but here, prices for STAs increased by about 75 per cent, something, he said that is unlike any other seasonal tourist destination in Canada.”
“‘Listing growth was slowing before COVID-19 and COVID caused a further negative shock. Prices were relatively stable until COVID and have since exploded. This pattern makes PEC unique among Canadian seasonal tourist destinations.’”
From CBS 8 in California. “Airbnb host of 3 years Guy East lives in and rents out his Chula Vista home. He organized about a dozen other Airbnb hosts to meet up to discuss what they like and don’t like about the City of Chula Vista’s consideration of adopting a short term rental ordinance, with permit fees and adding enforcement staffing. ‘I was completely shocked to hear that this was going through and being taken up for a vote on Tuesday. What has been put forward seems very rushed,’ said East.”
“Airbnb host Aaron Davitian says not all the proposal is bad for rentals, but he does take issue with much of it. ‘A lot of what is in the ordinance we are fine with, no problem with the fines for bad actors, and giving police something to really go after, but the de facto ban and not being able to use a home outside of your own, these are the things that really hurt us and put us out of work,’ said Davitian.”
“‘My wife’s escape room business got shut down due to the pandemic. We were forced out of business, so this is what kept us alive during this time period, so it is very important to our family and to our income, no question,’ said Davitian. With two city council members having to recuse themselves due to owning rentals, and one member absent, Chula Vista will discuss the short-term rental matter at a later meeting slated for December.”
The Los Angeles Times in California. “As part of your rent at the new $300-million apartment building called Kurve on Wilshire, you can get a weekly visit from a housekeeper who will make your bed to hotel standards, load your dishwasher, tidy the place up and take out the trash. Housekeeping will also deliver your mail to your unit, and box up and return items you bought online that you decide not to keep. That’s just for starters, all available for a fee.”
“The pampering is not unique to Kurve, located near Koreatown, which is attempting to compete in a crowded upper-tier market. To get renters in the downtown market where several luxury properties have come online in recent years, the landlord has been offering periods of free rent to tenants who sign one-year leases.”
“Landlord Victor MacFarlane hopes to stop giving rent concessions as the economy recovers and office workers return downtown, but the competition for renters now includes two fancy high-rises that were planned to be condominiums when they were built. Thea, a 58-story skyscraper built in 2020 by Chinese developer Greenland USA as part of the Metropolis condo and hotel complex, became a 685-unit apartment building after the condo market proved too thin to support it. Prospective tenants are offered as much as eight weeks of free rent to sign a lease.”
“Resident Daniel Lee, who moved in shortly after Kurve opened in September, likes that the dog can relieve herself on a special patch of artificial grass that drains into the sewer system. Where he lived earlier in Koreatown, ‘walking my dog at night was kind of dangerous.’”
The Pensacola News Journal in Florida. “Pensacola is still in the grips of a red-hot real estate and rental market, but experts say there are a few factors at play that could cause the market to cool off. There were 96 rentals actively listed on the market in September, and broker associate Nicole St. Aubin, who specializes in the rental market, said as of Monday, there were 127, which is a huge increase over the low in July of only 55 properties on the Pensacola MLS site. ‘We’ve effectively doubled the amount of inventory in the Pensacola MLS,’ she said.”
From Idaho News 6. “Data from ApartmentList.com notes rents in Boise have ‘declined sharply’ over the last month – with a decline of 3.2% from the previous month. It’s the second month in a row with declines in average rates. It’s the sharpest decline of any city in the nation, according to ApartmentList. On factory driving, the change may be added apartment inventory as long-gestating projects start to come online. The Boise market saw several new complexes come online in recent months, adding inventory. One, Jules on 3rd, added 174 new apartment units in Downtown Boise, and leasing managers are offering incentives to attract renters, including free rent.”
The Technician Online. “Affordable housing — or lack thereof — continues to look bleak around NC State’s campus. Whether it be right on Hillsborough Street, Western Boulevard or off Avent Ferry, housing that is supposedly catered to students has spiked in rent prices in recent years. I’m here to tell you: almost all of these housing options take advantage of students’ need for off-campus living.”
“If you need to stay near Hillsborough Street, there is always the option of Valentine Commons. It has an astonishing rating of 4.6 on apartments.com, yet every review is a one-star commentary about how disgusting the place is and how poorly managed it is. It seems they are clearly lying to students looking for housing about the quality of this complex, which isn’t surprising. The funniest thing about most of these apartments is their rents are not all inclusive. Many cover all utilities, but parking is almost never included and costs an extra price every month.”
“My question is, how do these apartments continue to rise in rent and no one has said anything about it? There is no way students can afford this while being full-time students, working part-time jobs and struggling with finances as it is. These complexes bank on the idea that students desire ‘luxury’ apartments, when luxury is the last thing on college students’ minds. I would even argue that most of these options aren’t even luxury.”
“‘They build them in two weeks and put marble contact paper on the kitchen counters, wood looking tiles, and throw a pool table in the common area and charge $2000 for it. Now you paying $2k to hear your upstairs neighbors have sex,’ said Queen D. This is exactly what all of these apartments look like — and the walls are paper-thin, to my dismay.”
From News 12 in Arizona. “New apartments continue to be constructed across the Valley. Even just a quick drive around Phoenix will prove there are dozens of new places to live being built. ‘It definitely appears from just an average community member that we’re building too many apartments…but we’re not,’ Nat Stum, principal with Martingale Investment Partners said.”
“Alison Cook-Davis, the Associate Director for Research at Morrison Institute and her team offered ideas as well on how to help develop more affordable housing, including helping make construction more effective, including offering incentives for developers to build affordable housing. ‘While it’s not much less expensive to build an affordable development, landlords don’t make nearly the profit that they could if they were building luxury apartments,’ Cook-Davis said.”