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Attachment B – Recent Newspaper Articles
Report: Fort Collins running out of
rooms
Adrian D. Garcia, agarcia@coloradoan.com6:29 p.m. MST February 11, 2016
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A shortage of housing in the Fort Collins-Loveland area landed the metro on a new list of
the top U.S. cities running out of rooms.
During the start of 2016, just 0.23 percent of Fort Collins' homes are vacant, according to
the RealtyTrac report released Thursday. The California real estate analysis company
found only the San Jose, California, metro had a lower vacancy rate.
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San Jose recorded a 0.19 percent vacancy rate in RealtyTrac's report. The reportshows
the national average vacancy rate at 1.6 percent.
FORT COLLINS: Median rent nears $1,400 per month
For the report, RealtyTrac analyzed nearly 85 million residential properties, one to four
units in size, in 147 metropolitan statistical areas with 100,000 residents or more. The
company used U.S. Postal Service data to identify vacant properties.
“With several notable exceptions, the challenge facing most U.S. real estate markets is
not too many vacant homes but too few,” said RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist
in a statement. “The razor-thin vacancy rates in many markets are placing upward
pressure on home prices and rents. While that may be good news for sellers and
landlords, it is bad news for buyers and renters and could be bad news for all if prices
and rents are inflated above tolerable affordability thresholds.”
Growth & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached at 970-224-7835
orTwitter.com/adriandgarcia.
Top Five U.S. Cities Running out of Rooms
METRO RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTIES
VACANT
PROPERTIES
VACANCY
RATE
San Jose,
California
443,387 858 0.2%
Fort Collins-
Loveland
105,876 246 0.2%
Manchester, New
Hampshire
117,729 342 0.3%
Provo-Orem, Utah 131,449 397 0.3%
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania
148,177 457 0.3%
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Top Five Most Vacant U.S. Cities
METRO RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTIES
VACANT
PROPERTIES
VACANCY
RATE
Flint, Michigan 154,137 11,605 7.5%
Detroit 1,539,609 81,190 5.3%
Youngstown, Ohio 156,861 6,979 4.4%
Beaumont, Texas 124,939 4,695 3.8%
Atlantic City, New
Jersery
112,765 4,191 3.7%
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Rental housing market in Fort
Collins is among tightest in the U.S.
RealtyTrac says the Larimer County city has fewer than 250 vacancies making the
market as tight as San Jose, Calif.
By Natalie Munio
The Denver Post
POSTED: 02/11/2016 12:39:25 PM MST4 COMMENTS| UPDATED: 28 DAYS AGO
FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2007 file photo, a "for rent" sign is posted outside a home in Denver. Real estate data firm Zillow
reports on U.S. home rental prices in January 2015 on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. (AP | David Zalubowski)
Mar 4:
What salary it takes to buy a typical home in metro Denver
Mar 2:
Denver No. 1 on U.S. News' Best Places to Live list
Mar 1:
Inventory of homes for sale hits record low in metro Denver
Feb 25:
Denver homebuyers aren't looking as much at homes they can't afford
Feb 23:
Denver holds double-digit home price gains at end of 2015
Feb 18:
House flipping fading in Denver
Fort Collins has one of the tightest rental markets in the country — perhaps fewer than
250 vacancies across the city.
According to a report from RealtyTrac, Fort Collins ranked second nationwide among
cities with the lowest vacancy rates, having only 0.2 percent of total residential
properties classifying as vacant.
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A normal city vacancy rate would be around 3 percent, RealtyTrac vice president Daren
Blomquist said. Fort Collins' tight market signifies a healthy employment rate and a
growing population.
"A common theme for cities with low vacancies is a very low unemployment rate, and
Fort Collins comes in with half the national average, at just 2.8 percent," Blomquist said.
"But Fort Collins is also a college town, and a small one at that, which lends itself to even
fewer vacant properties when you have a steady stream of students and employees
coming in and providing a supply of buyers and renters."
The report focused on nationwide residential properties based on data such as
foreclosure status, owner occupancy status, and equity. California's Silicon Valley, too,
logged a 0.2 percent vacancy rate, with about 858 of 443,387 properties open. The
report found just 4,424 vacancies among metro Denver's 826,435 total residential
properties for a 0.5 percent vacancy rate.
Richard Button, the executive director of the Everitt Real Estate Center at Colorado
State University, said the existing stock of student-oriented housing in Fort Collins is
already sparse, so by extension, the non-student market might begin to reflect it.
"In a way, rental is a more affordable way for people who want to live in Fort Collins.
Just deciding to live here might mean choosing the rental market," Button said. "What's
problematic is the cost of housing here is much higher, so we might also see an out-
migration to the surrounding communities because of that increase in pricing."
Blomquist said a ripple effect of the 0.2 percent vacancy rate might mean people having
to move further from where they work in order to find housing that's not only available,
but also reasonably affordable.
"A lower amount of vacant homes is a good thing, but too much of a good thing presents
challenges, one of which is affordability," Blomquist said. "That 0.2 number indicates
there's less supply than there is demand and that's going to push up rental and home
prices and could make the market unaffordable for the people moving there for jobs."
Natalie Munio: 303-954-1666, nmunio@denverpost.com or @nataliemunio
Markets that are tight, and those that are not
Metropolitan Statistical Area: Total properties, Vacant properties, Rate
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Most vacant
Flint, Mich.: 154,`37, 11,605, 7.5%
Detroit: 1,539,609, 81,190, 5.3%
Beaumont, Texas: 124,939, 4,695, 3.8%
Atlantic City, N.J.: 112,765, 4,191, 3.7%
No room
San Jose, Calif.: 443,387, 858, 0.2%
Fort Collins: 105,876, 246, 0.2%
Manchester, N.H.: 117,729, 342, 0.3%
Provo, Utah: 131,449, 397, 0.3%
Lancaster, Pa.: 148,177, 457, 0.3%