Though many “for rent” signs can be seen around Cache Valley, it doesn’t mean renters are having success finding affordable housing.
America’s “affordable housing crisis” has been a topic of conversation in many local council meetings since it began.
Stephen Nelson, Cache County’s Director of Development Services, says he and his team’s job is to continue informing local councils on different options they have to alleviate the issue.
“If you open up a variety of different housing options, that tends to meet the needs of more people that are looking at living in an area and tends to generally allow for additional supply. Which tends to help maintain or even lower our home prices,” Nelson said. “Though it is a local problem, it is affected by regional and national economics.”
Kim Ure of Peaks Management Group, a property management company in Cache Valley, believes property managers are having a hard time filling their new developments because the new properties often have a higher rent.
“The more expensive ones will always be harder to fill,” Ure said. “That’s just how that usually goes.”
While Nelson agrees that new housing developments are going to come with an increased rent price, he says a good balance of older and newer developments is important.
“When you see new housing open up, what you’ll end up seeing is people moving from their current housing into the new housing, which opens more affordable units down the line,” Nelson said. “There’s kind of a chain effect.”
Nelson said his office is going to continue to expand its research on the housing market.
“The county is looking at undertaking and starting to review some of that, by looking into vacancy rates within our community to help us have a better understanding of the overall housing picture,” Nelson said.
Several property management companies said, to a certain extent, these openings around the valley at this time are expected. As potential students and residents are deciding whether or not to move to the valley, there are inevitably some who change their mind, leaving open leases following the summer months.
Ure said the average cost for a three bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom rental is in the neighborhood of $1600-$1800. A number she says has come down significantly, following the initial housing market spike.
When Hyde Park selected their newest councilmember earlier this month, they talked about affordable housing in relation to jobs available in the area. Many of them said the city should work to bring in businesses with wages that can allow for people to afford housing.
“The whole western United States is facing these issues right now,” Nelson said. “What we would encourage… is finding ways that different home options can be opened up in different communities that meet the scale and the ability for that city to provide services to that home.”
