Its 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 youre looking for single-family houses (for rent), there arent 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; theyre not moving. The economy has kicked them.

Although there are homes for sale, they dont 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 todays 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 countys 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 bureaus figures showing otherwise, theres plenty of housing in Seaside, said Erin Barker, co-owner of Beach Property Management Inc. and Beachhouse Vacation Rentals Inc.

Barkers 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 cant find a buyer or they have been trying to manage properties on their own and realize its 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 citys 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 Seasides 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 doesnt include homes sold by local real estate agencies that dont 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 years 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.

 Its 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. Gearharts 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 didnt 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 dont think people really realize the importance of having those strategic conversations around taxes, Blake said.

While the city of Cannon Beach doesnt 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 citys efforts.

When Cannon Beach officials sought voter approval of a $4 million ballot measure to acquire the Ecola Forest Reserve, we didnt 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, theyre thrilled to be part of Cannon Beach and to have a house in Cannon Beach.