Nothing going on but the rent
New Housing Department report shows increasing rents, vacancy 0%
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — A new quarterly report on housing released this week shows pretty much what a casual observer could guess. Rents going up, vacancy at near 0%.
Over the past nine quarters (Q4 2019 to Q4 2021), the Housing Department has collected rental data on the Town of Jackson’s five main apartment complexes: Blair Place Apartments, Aspen Meadows Apartments, The Timbers Apartments, Hidden Hollow Apartments and, new this quarter, Sagebrush Apartments. The report does not provide information about privately rented condominiums, townhomes, or single-family homes.
The data collected includes changes in rental rates and vacancy rates. This data is collected and analyzed quarterly to understand changes in pricing, supply, and demand for rental units in town. The data in this report is provided to Housing Department staff directly by the complexes’ management teams.
This report also provides annual information for workforce rental units and affordable rental units. Rent rates for the affordable rental units are set annually based on median family incomes by household size. Rent rates for the workforce rental units are set by the owner of the unit and change throughout the year, based on lease terms.
Workforce rental units are intended to serve households who earn too much to qualify for the Affordable Program. In practice, however, these units are serving a spectrum of households, many of whom earn less than 120% of Median Family Income, are paying more than 30% of their monthly income towards rent, and are therefore considered “cost-burdened.”
In 2021:
- Market rent rates increased for all unit types (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom).
- Rent rates for workforce rental units were slightly below market rates and higher than rent rates for affordable rental units.
- Vacancy rates for all units hovered around 0% the entire year.
Market Rental Rate Comparison: 2008 and 2021
The Housing Department has market rental data from 2008, pre-Great Recession. This data set includes 351 market rental units, plus over 200 private lease agreements with local property management companies.
At that point in time, Blair Place complex was not fully completed and only had 235 out of its now 292 units built. There was less supply of market apartment rentals as neither Hidden Hollow nor Sagebrush Apartments existed. However, there were other complexes such as the Virginian Lane Apartments and the Ponderosa Apartments, both of which have since been turned into condominiums where units have been sold individually.
Market Vacancy Rates
For the past six quarters, vacancy rates have hovered close to zero. This quarter, attributable to the addition of 58 new market apartments at Sagebrush (32 more units in this complex are deed restricted), vacancy rates increased slightly.
