Untapped Opportunities
RESET Report Unearths Housing Trends in the West
As the housing market begins to recover after years of recession, what will the future look like in the Rocky Mountain West? Will a wave of retiring Baby Boomers and the emergence of an even larger Generation Y shift consumer demand? How will changing incomes affect housing decisions? Is there an appetite - and opportunity - for a different kind of growth?
A new study commissioned by the Sonoran Institute seeks to answer these questions. The report focuses on six communities in the region: Boise, Idaho; Bozeman, Mont.; Buena Vista, Colo.; Carbondale, Colo.; Eagle, Colo.; and Teton County, Idaho.
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| Clark Anderson |
"What we are seeing is a more varied market that reflects the needs and wants of people at different stages in life, economic circumstances, and lifestyle preferences," says Clark Anderson, the Sonoran Institute's Western Colorado Program director. "More and more people want convenience, they want to walk, and they want neighborhoods with character. In a lot of towns these qualities are hard to find outside of a few small, historic neighborhoods. So it's sort of an untapped opportunity."
Anderson notes that the Institute's findings are in keeping with recent national studies. For example, a 2011 survey by the National Association of Realtors, which provided inspiration for the Institute's more regionally focused analysis, showed growing demand for homes in areas with a "sense of place," and other attributes like walkability and reduced commute time.
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| Randy Carpenter |
"Since the post-WWII era, we've been building housing and infrastructure that's very suburban in character," says Randy Carpenter, director of the Sonoran Institute's Northern Rockies Program. "The study shows there is a growing demand for something different."
Six Communities Examined
The Institute commissioned real estate analysis firm Economic Planning Systems, Inc., to conduct a consumer preference survey and market analysis in six representative communities to see what kind of housing people say they want, and what kind of housing product has actually been built and purchased in those communities.
Like the national survey, 90 percent of regional respondents said it was important to live in a place where it is easy to walk to other things in the community. Sixty-two percent would settle for a smaller lot in order to live within walking distance of parks, trails, and recreation. And, while most people still prefer detached, single-family housing, 37 percent said they would trade single-family for attached housing in order to live in or near downtown.
The market analysis found that compact walkable development is performing well in the Rockies, representing an average of 16 percent of the residential housing built in the six communities from 2000-2011. The study also found that homebuyers were willing to pay a premium, an average of 18.5 percent more per square foot, to live in walkable neighborhoods.
Still, it can be hard for people to find what they are looking for. Sixty percent of respondents said they had "few options" for housing in the type of neighborhood and price range they sought, indicating a gap between consumer demand and the type of product being offered.
"This study doesn't mean that compact walkable development is the only thing people want, but it does indicate a significant opportunity for both the public and private sectors to respond to," says Carpenter. Creating a sense of place, enabling walkability, providing more inviting attached housing, and bringing housing downtown: all of this requires and attention to detail and good design on the part of developers, and smart policy and infrastructure investments from the public sector.
"But people will pay to live in these places," Carpenter says. "The reward is a more vibrant, livable, desirable community."
RESET, the report can be viewed and downloaded at:
Community Builders website
Sonoran Institute's website
