Downtown Housing

Our comprehensive downtown housing studies provide you with an understanding of downtown housing options and a comprehensive strategy for housing development.  We analyze both for-rent and for-sale options.

Conclusions/Recommendation

• Support for multifamily (for-rent/for-sale) development in the downtown area by rent range/sales prices, mix, and size/square footage.
• Support components will be identified, including in-migration and internal mobility.
• Discussion of product types, amenities/features, unit mix, and premiums associated with downtown apartments and condominiums.
• Estimated absorption by product type and rent range/sales price
• Establish broad marketing strategies to optimize rent and absorption of downtown apartments and condominiums.
• When appropriate, barriers to downtown housing development will be discussed as determined based on interviews, case studies and surveys

Supply/Demand Analysis

Our conclusions and recommendations are based on a thorough inspection of the subject site (or site area), an analysis of area demographics,  and the identification of an Effective Market Area (EMA) for downtown housing.  The EMA is the smallest geographical area expected to generate a majority of support for the subject site.

Supply Analysis

Area supply is determined through 

• A 100% field survey of EMA apartment developments.  Apartments are surveyed to find the following information for each property: number of units, type of unit  (garden/townhouse), unit mix, rent, vacancies, unit and project amenities, project type (market-rate or government subsidized), utilities, comparability rating, and year built/opened.  If upscale property is proposed, additional field surveys of upscale projects located in nearby suburbs may be conducted to identify performance of potentially competitive properties.
• A 100% field survey of EMA condominium developments.  Condominiums are surveyed to find sales prices, unit and project amenities, year built, association fees, and absorption rate.
• Data from the US Census Bureau

Demand Analysis

• Analysis of the overall demand for multifamily apartments and condominiums in the downtown area, including market-rate low-income housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units and other subsidies.
• Analysis of the overall demand for condominium development by sales price based on applying standard capture factors to available household income distributions.  This demand figure is compared to existing supply to identify existing deficits.
• Demand for downtown corporate rentals can be identified through interviews with major employers
• When appropriate, telephone, Internet and intercept surveys with downtown employees and residents may be conducted to identify:
• Overall perception of downtown and downtown housing
• What additional amenities would attract people to downtown housing
• Positive and negative elements of living in an urban environment
• A comparison of proposed rent to expected market-driven rent at opening based on a Comparable Rent Analysis. The Comparable Rent Analysis allows for determination of market-driven rent for projects of any amenity level by using a regression analysis to analyze project rent in conjunction with its Comparability Rating.
• An analysis of step-up support for the proposed project. Our research indicates that the largest single component of support for any apartment project is apartment tenants already residing within the EMA, and that most apartment shoppers will "step up" their rent payments for housing that they consider to be a value. Our analysis identifies this step-up support by dollar range and median.
• An analysis of potential turnover vulnerability for the proposed project. Our research indicates that the largest single source of tenant "drain" from any development is the apartment communities in the EMA priced within step-up range of the subject community.
• An analysis of rent gaps. Rent gaps are the differences in rent between unit types, such as one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Rent gaps can be a substantial factor in a project's initial rent-up. Our analysis identifies the area's median rent gap, rent gap at the proposed project's Comparability Index, and rent gap at the proposed project. Rent gap among product alternatives (such as mix, location, and floor plan) at the subject site is also evaluated.
• Competitive Analysis. When necessary, potentially competitive projects are compared with the proposed project and analyzed in detail, including a detailed look at floor plans, entry impact, storage space, unit and project amenities, and pricing. 

For more information, please call Terry Hall at (614) 221-9096 during business hours (8 am to 5 pm) Eastern US time, or e-mail us at thall@danter.com.

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