Dozens of community leaders and economic development officials attended the release of a new housing study, on Jan. 24, 2024, at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane.
Terrell Ellis, Advantage Valley’s President and CEO, told those in attendance, on Jan. 24, 2024 at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane, that the new housing study was commissioned to better understand the region’s evolving housing market and attract and encourage residential development to meet current and future housing needs.
Dozens of community leaders and economic development officials attended the release of a new housing study, on Jan. 24, 2024, at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane.
FRED PACE | Gazette-Mail
HURRICANE — Challenges and opportunities were highlighted a regional housing study released Wednesday at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane by Advantage Valley, Inc., a nonprofit regional economic development organization representing the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä-Huntington metro area.
Patrick Bowen, president of Bowen National Research, the firm that helped to complete the study for Advantage Valley, Inc., said “significant new housing development†is needed in a 10-county region covering the Greater Kanawha Valley, which spans:
Boone
Cabell
Clay
Jackson
Kanawha
Lincoln
Mason
Putnam
Roane
Wayne
Bowen said the study concluded that the recent economic development announcements and corresponding job growth will result in positive overall household growth for the region, reversing a projected decline that had been forecast for the next five years.
“From 2023-2028, the region has the potential to create 5,359 direct and 17,506 indirect jobs, resulting in 13,000 new households,†he said, adding that the economic investment planned or underway will contribute to the demand for additional housing within a region that is already facing a significant housing shortage.
“These facts point to numerous residential development opportunities for both rental and for-sale housing,†he said.
The details of the studyÌý
According to Terrell Ellis, Advantage Valley’s President and CEO, the study was commissioned to better understand the region’s evolving housing market and attract and encourage residential development to meet current and future housing needs.
Terrell Ellis, Advantage Valley’s President and CEO, told those in attendance, on Jan. 24, 2024 at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane, that the new housing study was commissioned to better understand the region’s evolving housing market and attract and encourage residential development to meet current and future housing needs.
FRED PACE | Gazette-Mail
“We intuitively knew that with the new jobs coming into the region, we will need to increase the supply of quality housing but we have not been able to exactly quantify the need,†she said. “Now we know that there will be a large demand for thousands of new rental units and single family homes over the next five years. However, this study also really brought to light some important issues that we face right now with regard to affordability and accessibility.â€
Bowen said a broad cross section of the community was surveyed or interviewed, with 1,200 survey responses received from community leaders, residents, employers, lenders and developers. He reported some key findings, which included nearly 30% of employers indicated that they have difficulty attracting or retaining employees due to housing issues.
“In addition, developers noted that lack of available sites, cost of labor, materials, and land, and land and zoning regulations are common barriers to residential development,†he said.
“There is an imbalance between wages paid and housing affordability in the rental and single-family home markets,†he said.
“Approximately 49% of the top 35 occupations in the region do not have sufficient median wages to afford the typical rental at the respective Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom unit, and 79% of the top occupations in the region cannot afford a typical for-sale home.â€
He added the projected growth in the number of new jobs and households will continue to affect what is already a critically low housing supply.
“The multi-family rental vacancy rate is far below healthy market conditions,†he said. “A vacancy rate of only 1%, or 118 out of 10,000 units, indicates a significant need for additional multi-family rental housing for all income levels. A healthy market vacancy rate is 4%.â€
The study also showed the region’s inventory of for-sale housing is low and dated, and housing prices are increasing. On average, available homes in the region were built in 1966, according to the study.
“There were only 621 homes available for purchase as of October 2023, representing only 0.4% of the housing stock, and prices have increased 16% from 2020 to 2023,†he said.
What’s nextÌý
Bowen said the study shows the region will need several thousand new units of rental and for sale housing to meet the demand.
Patrick Bowen, president of Bowen National Research, speaks at the presentation in Hurricane on Wednesday.
FRED PACE | Gazette-Mail | Gazette-Mail
“Nearly 11,000 rental units and 20,000 single family homes are needed over the five-year projection period,†he said. “The largest need for rental units will be for households with incomes of $50,000 or less and the largest need for single family homes will be in the $300,000 range.â€
Bowen said while the region faces housing challenges, particularly with the lack of available housing and clear pent-up demand for more affordable workforce housing, these challenges also represent significant housing development opportunities for the region.
“Combining these residential development opportunities with the substantial economic investment underway and planned, the Advantage Valley region is poised to experience unprecedented growth,†he said. “The housing needs assessment will serve as a great tool for strategic planning on a local and regional level and can be used to attract and encourage much needed residential development across the region.â€
