The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District and Discovery District Special Improvement District released their joint Year End report this week, which provides a detailed summary of the current state of Downtown Columbus. Many of the findings were expected results of growth trends that have continued over the past several years, including:
- The residential population of Downtown Columbus grew to 7,700 residents, and will surpass 10,000 sometime in 2017.
- Downtown apartment vacancy rates are holding strong at 96% occupancy.
Several other findings in the report appeared to signal new trends.
The report shows that new residential development that was completed in 2015 was made up of 92% percent rentals and 8% for-sale homes and condos. Meanwhile, new residential units under construction in 2015 are made up of 91% rentals and 9% for-sale homes and condos. And finally, new residential units proposed in 2015 for future construction show a decline to just 81% rental, while 19% are either for-sale condos, or include a mix of rentals and for-sale units together.
“After the recession, virtually everything we saw Downtown was rental,” explained Marc Conte, Deputy Director of Research, Planning & Facilities at the SIDs. “We’re now seeing more confidence in for-sale products, which is noteworthy.”
When it comes to the affordability of those residential units, pricing ranges, but typically toward the higher end. The median sale price of a new residential unit in 2015 climbed to $444,685, an increase from $398,825 in 2014. The median sale price of all Downtown residential units (new and old) declined though, from $297,500 in 2014 to $267,450 in 2015.
“The reason why the median price of new units has gone up is because we have less of them,” explained Conte, pointing out that only 21 new for-sale condos were sold Downtown in 2015. “The price distribution of new units is really very small, because there’s a small number that have never sold.”
Several “workforce housing” developments are slated for construction in 2016, which will add new apartment units geared toward working class and middle class residents. Conte said that while more affordable housing is needed, the low apartment vacancy rates also mean there is additional demand for higher-end luxury units.
“The most successful developers will be the ones that are meeting the demand where it’s at,” he stated. “Traditionally we’ve seen demand from empty nesters and young professionals, and within those demographics there’s a wide income range. There’s demand for more workforce housing, but there’s also demand for all types of housing. It’s going to be up to developers to decide which part of the market they want to go after.”
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To view the full State of Downtown Columbus Year End 2015 Report, CLICK HERE (PDF).