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Rental Market Tightens | 7/17/2012
Property owner Rocky Gordon is right in the middle of a housing crunch in the capital city. Gordon, whose firm manages around 800 apartments in Bismarck and Mandan, says things have changed from the "good old days" of the 70s and 80s.
"We`re not the sleepy little community we were in the 70s and so that adds its excitements and challenges to the job," property owner Rocky Gordon said.
Around ten years ago, Gordon says apartment complexes on both sides of the river were getting overbuilt. However, with more people moving to the area, any rental property with vacancies has quickly filled up in the past couple years.
"We were in a tightening market before we got any oil impacts. And that on top of a tightening market has kind of made it a double whammy in our market," Gordon said.
Gordon says if you`re looking for an apartment in Bismarck and Mandan, you should get your application in early, as waiting lists are running up to at least 60 days or longer.
"Vacancy is probably about one and a half percent today. So you really need to take some time. There are always apartments turning over. So you can find something to rent if you start early," Gordon said.
Gordon says new construction will provide some relief by next year. However, with a number of projects in the works and available land in short supply, he says it`s difficult to know exactly how many will be going up.
"I hear numbers over the next two years of 1,000 to 1,200 units," Gordon said.
With more living spaces coming on the market, Gordon says he also expects rent to rise as much as five to ten percent in the next few years as well.
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