New Report on Multi-Dwelling Housing Trends Released

Multi-dwelling housing units, which include apartments, duplexes, and other attached rentals, play an important role in the residential landscape of Knox County, comprising nearly a quarter of the area's housing stock. The Information Services staff at MPC recently completed Multi-Dwelling Housing Trends in Knox County, a report offering details on recent pace of construction, rent rates, and occupancy levels in the multi-dwelling market. Part of MPC's Technical Report Series, this is the sixth edition of the report.

Some highlights from the report:

• Across Knoxville and Knox County, there are 198,000 housing units, 46,000 of which are multi-dwelling units.
• By a 3-to-1 margin, more multi-dwelling units are found in the City of Knoxville than in the unincorporated areas of Knox County.
• There is a nearly 60/40 split between single dwelling and multi-dwelling units in the city, while the county balance reports a 90/10 split.
• In the past 10 years, more than 6,300 multi-dwelling units were built, with the largest gain occurring in 2004 (1,092 units) and fewest units added in 2005 (327 units).
• Since 2000, average monthly apartment rent in Knox County increased 34.3 percent to $658 in 2010.
• Over the past decade, the apartment market has seen occupancy rates above 90 percent, with a 92.9 percent rate in 2010.
• Among major multi-dwelling projects of the past couple of years, three were completed downtown: JFG Flats (53 units), The Landings (150 units), and Minvilla Manor (57 units).
• Suburban projects included Amberleigh Bluff (336 units) in southwest Knox, Legends at Oak Grove (264 units) northside, and Greystone Summit (218 units) in the northwest county.
• Knox County's multi-dwelling housing market has seen slow but steady delivery of new supply and gradually improving vacancies and rents, putting it in solid standing within the broader local housing market.

In addition to this report, the Metropolitan Planning Commission assembles and maintains an extensive collection of research materials on other property markets: Office Market Analysis, Shopping Center Market Analysis, Industrial/Warehouse Space Inventory, Hotel Market Analysis, and Development Activity Report.

Contact Bryan Berry or Terry Gilhula of MPC's Information Services staff or visit the Local Development Datapage of the MPC website for more information.

Posted 09-07-2011, written by Terry Gilhula and Bryan Berry