It’s harder to find a house for long-term rental in Clatsop
County than it was 10 years ago. But if you want to rent a house
for a weekend, your chances are better than ever.

And if purchasing a home in Clatsop County is a goal, this may
be the time to peruse the real estate listings.

 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, rental housing vacancies
throughout the county have tightened up considerably over what they
were in 2000. But seasonal home rentals are plentiful, and home
sales prices are lower than they have been in years.

“If you’re looking for single-family houses (for rent), there
aren’t a lot to be had,” said Cheryl Malinen, owner of Astoria
Coast Property Management. “They are available, but not as
plentiful. People are staying put; they’re not moving. The economy
has kicked them.”

Although there are homes for sale, they don’t go into the rental
pool; neither do foreclosures, she said.

But, said Malinen, who manages 107 houses, duplexes, apartments
and condos from Knappa to Seaside, the demand for rental housing is
outstripping the inventory, at least in Knappa, Astoria and
Warrenton. “Tell your readers that I need more houses,” she
added.

 

The latest
figures

The Census bureau recently released data for 2010 that gives a
brief glimpse into today’s housing market. Although the details in
this report are broken down into more categories than they were in
2000, making it difficult to compare the two sets of figures, the
message is apparent: Those who live in Clatsop County may struggle
much more to find rental homes where they can settle in for the
long term than they did in 2000.

 At that time, the county had a long-term rental vacancy rate of
14.8 percent. Of the county’s 4,982 vacant housing units, 1,890
rental units were available for local residents. The rest – 3,092 –
were for seasonal or recreational use.

But in 2010, the long-term rental vacancy rate is only 9.1
percent of the 5,804 vacant units.

Of the total number of vacant units, according to the new
breakdowns, 611 were for rent at the time the survey was taken, 360
were for sale, and 4,298 were seasonal or recreational.

The remaining were rented, not occupied (44); sold, not occupied
(47) or listed in “other vacants,” (444) including
foreclosures.

In total, Clatsop County has 21,546 housing units, 1,861 units –
or 9.4 percent – more than a decade ago. Of those, 15,742, only
three-fourths of the inventory, are occupied.

But the availability of housing may depend on location,
location, location.

 

A contrary view

Despite the Census bureau’s figures showing otherwise, “there’s
plenty of housing” in Seaside, said Erin Barker, co-owner of Beach
Property Management Inc. and Beachhouse Vacation Rentals Inc.

Barker’s company manages about 300 long-term and vacation rental
homes, mostly in and around Seaside.

In the past month, Barker has received several calls from people
asking her to manage their homes and apartments as rentals, she
said. While some may just be changing management companies for
housing units already being rented, others are moving out of the
area and can’t find a buyer or they have been trying to manage
properties on their own and realize it’s harder than they
thought.

More one- and two-bedroom rentals are available than larger
units, Barker said.

Data recently released by the Census bureau on housing occupancy
shows that it would have been easier 10 years ago in any of the
five incorporated cities to find a rental than it is today.

In Seaside, for instance, the Census data from 2000 shows that,
of the city’s 4,078 housing units at that time, more than one-fifth
of them – 20.9 percent – were vacant rentals.

 But fast-forward to the 2010 Census data and Seaside’s 4,638
housing units, and the vacancy rate has decreased to 13.4
percent.

The other cities have similar vacancy rate declines: Astoria,
13.1 percent in 2000 and 7.9 percent now; Warrenton, 10.7 percent
vs. 6.6 percent; Gearhart, 14.6 percent vs. 7.9 percent; and Cannon
Beach, 16.3 percent vs. 5.8 percent.

 

Other reasons

Another reason for the lower vacancy rate is that local
residents who are worried about the economy are moving into the
available rental units instead of buying their own homes, said
Realtor Robin Risley, president of the Clatsop Association of
Realtors. She is the principal broker for Coldwell Banker Kent
Price Realty, Inc.

“People in tough spots are looking at rentals, the rationality
being that the rental gives them more flexibility,” Risley
said.

With more demand on rentals comes a lesser demand for houses
listed for sale. Of the 14,703 occupied housing units in Clatsop
County 10 years ago, 9,680 – or 64.2 percent – were owner-occupied.
Renter-occupied housing amounted to 5,270 units, or 35.8
percent.

But the 2010 Census showed a slight decline in owner-occupied
housing units: Of the 15,742 occupied units, 9,680 – 61.5 percent –
were owner-occupied. Renter-occupied units totaled 6,062, or 38.5
percent.

There are 500 active residential listings in the Clatsop
Multiple Listings; last year at this time there were 700. There may
be several reasons for the lower number: Some houses have been
turned into long-term rentals or short-term seasonal rentals, some
homeowners want to wait until the market is better before they list
their houses, or homeowners are staying put and not buying larger,
more expensive homes.

Most of the homes being sold are in Astoria or Warrenton because
the majority are under $300,000, Risley said. So far this year,
there have been 155 sales in the county, according to the Clatsop
Multiple Listing Service. However, this number doesn’t include
homes sold by local real estate agencies that don’t participate in
the local MLS.

In 2006, the heyday of home sales in the county, 275 had been
sold by this time of the year, and 42 of those were for more than
$500,000, Risley said.

Of this year’s 155 sales, only 13 have been for more than
$500,000, she noted.

 Home prices are going down, some by as much as 30 to 40
percent, Risley said, either because the slow market has forced the
reduction or the homes are in foreclosure.

Homes that were on the market for a year or several years have
sold this year, but prices were much lower than originally listed,
Risley said. One home near Cannon Beach, for instance, originally
priced for $3.5 million, recently closed for $1 million. A Seaside
home that had been on the market for a few years for $1.4 million
sold for $825,000.

The competition for those selling their homes is grueling, she
added.

 “It’s a war zone out there,” Risley said.

She estimated that 80 percent of the sales are for second homes,
and 20 percent are for primary homes. But buyers seeking second
homes nowadays are seeking the “right” price.

“It has to be a deal or it has to offer some advantage to the
buyer before it is purchased,” Risley said.

 

All about second
homes

 Second or “recreational” homes make up half or more of the
residential housing in Cannon Beach and Gearhart, according to the
Census, and more than one-quarter of the housing in Seaside is
“seasonal.”

 Every city except Gearhart has a higher percentage of seasonal
homes now than they did a decade ago. Gearhart’s percentage
decreased from 53.7 percent to 50 percent, but there may be at
least two reasons for that: The city has annexed territory in the
past decade, and the area, including 79 acres to the northeast
annexed in January 2009, may have fewer second homes. Retirees may
be living full time in homes they vacationed in when they had young
families, Risley said.

Seaside had the highest increase of second homes. In 2000, there
were 761 “recreational” homes, or 18.7 percent of the total of
4,078 homes. But in 2010, the city had 1,246 second homes; the rate
had jumped to 27.3 percent of 4,638 homes.

Second homes in Cannon Beach increased by 3.6 percent over the
past 10 years to 54 percent, or 980 of 1,812 housing units.
Warrenton was up by 2.1 percent, to 110 of 2,196 housing units; and
Astoria rose 2.7 percent to 230 housing units out of 4,980.

Cities with a substantial number of second homes, where the
homeowners – and taxpayers – are gone most of the time, may
actually benefit.

 When Mary Blake, director of the Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, sought unsuccessfully to annex Cannon Beach
and Gearhart to the district, she called second-home owners in
those cities. She asked them if they would pay higher taxes to
support inclusion in the district – even if they didn’t swim at the
pool every day or participate in ongoing district activities.  Most
of those she called said they would pay the taxes, Blake said.

 “They said it was a privilege to participate in the community,”
she said. “They understand it helps their property values.”

Because they live here only occasionally, second-home owners
enable the area to maintain its rural setting with less traffic and
demand on services, but their property taxes pay for those services
such as fire and police that full-time residents need 24 hours a
day, Blake noted.

“I don’t think people really realize the importance of having
those strategic conversations around taxes,” Blake said.

While the city of Cannon Beach doesn’t necessarily save money on
services by having more than half of its homes vacant during the
year, second-home owners do provide moral support for the city’s
efforts.

When Cannon Beach officials sought voter approval of a $4
million ballot measure to acquire the Ecola Forest Reserve, “we
didn’t see or hear second-home owners opposing the ballot measure,”
said Mayor Mike Morgan.

“A lot of second-home owners were supportive because they saw
the value in owning 1,000 acres” in the watershed, Morgan said.
“For the most part, they’re thrilled to be part of Cannon Beach and
to have a house in Cannon Beach.”

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