Tag Archives: rental

Tax break was ‘absolutely critical’ to Bremerton apartment project

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_nThe 606 Apartments in Bremerton was the first project to make use of the city’s mutli-family tax exemption program, as I noted in a Sunday story.

PJ Santos, whose Lorax Partners company developed the 606, was off on vacation last week when I put the story together, but called Monday to give me his thoughts on the program.

Put plainly, Santos said the apartments couldn’t have been built without the incentive, which exempts to value of new apartment buildings from property taxes for up to 12 years.

“The project would not have happened if we didn’t have the abatement,” Santos said. “It was absolutely critical to make it viable.”

Rents in Kitsap are much lower than in Seattle, but construction costs are just as high. Santos aid the tax exemption, which saved 606 owners roughly $25,000 in 2016, made the project pencil out.

He noted cities are still able to tax the improvements as new construction once the exemption expires. But the delay in taxing the full value provides a much-needed boost for building Bremerton.

“It helps kick start development,” Santos said.

You can read more about Bremerton’s multi-family tax exemption here.

Another big apartment sale in Silverdale

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Silverdale Ridge sold on May 26 for $20.05 million.

A run on apartment complexes has been one sign of Kitsap’s resurgent rental market.

In Silverdale, two Los Angeles-based firms have spent a combined $167 million buying up large apartment complexes in the past year, according to assessor’s records.

Most recently, an LLC affiliated with Benedict Canyon Equities bought the Silverdale Ridge Apartments for $20.05 million. Benedict Canyon’s portfolio now includes three complexes in the Ridgetop area.

TruAmerica, a separate firm headquartered in the same Los Angeles building as Benedict Canyon, bought the Wellington and Madison at Ridgetop apartments last fall, as part of a 14-property, multi-state deal.

Here’s a infographic showing the sales (click to enlarge):

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A description of Silverdale on TruAmerica’s website provides insight into why investors are sweet on the area. The description notes the local economy is “driven by retail, health care, and professional military,” and highlights Harrison Medical Center‘s $240 million expansion project.

Rents also are improving (from a landlord’s perspective) in the county. In a second quarter market report, Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington found Silverdale had the largest average rent increase of any submarket in Kitsap.

Click here to read my post on second quarter rental trends in Kitsap.

Landlords fair will highlight need for veteran housing

B0013334255--619729The Homes for All Who Served initiative launched last year with the ambitious goal of housing all homeless veterans in Kitsap County by Nov. 11, 2016.

More than 80 former service members have been housed since the program started, but more needs to be done to meet the Veterans Day deadline, according to a county news release.

In an effort to find more potential homes for veterans, Kitsap Community Resources will host an information fair for landlords next week. The fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon July 22 at 1201 Park Street in Bremerton.

The event will include information on fair housing laws, housing subsidies, tenant programs that support veterans, and how to participate in ending veteran homelessness.

“Landlords are key partners in providing rental units for veterans who are being supported by agencies that provide counseling, job search and financial assistance,” Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said in the news release.

A survey conducted by Homes for All Who Served in the fall of 2015 found 45 veterans living outside. Nearly all of those veterans have either been housed, are in the process of securing housing, or are unable to be contacted, according to the news release. Another survey will be conducted this month.

Landlords and property owners interested in the Homes for All Who Served project may contact Jackie Fojtik at the Housing Solutions Center, (360) 473-2035.

Average apartment rent now $1,134 in Kitsap

B0012506365--503284Average rent for an apartment in Kitsap County climbed to $1,134 in the second quarter of 2016, while vacancies dropped below 4 percent.

Average rent per unit was up $57 from the first quarter of the year, marking the largest quarterly increase in the past two years.

Rental statistics were provided by Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington, who surveys apartment complexes with 50 or more units and tracks industry trends.

Average rent in Kitsap was up 12.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016, compared with the same period of 2015.

Complexes in the Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island submarket reported both the highest average rent ($1,418) and lowest vacancy rate (2.42 percent) in the county.

Silverdale had the highest vacancy rate at 4.19 percent, but the area also saw the largest rent increases in Kitsap in the second quarter.

Cain listed job growth, a hot for-sale real estate market, and a lack of apartment construction as factors contributing to low vacancies and steady rent hikes in Kitsap and neighboring counties.

“We anticipate that with the rapidly rising rent levels and very low vacancy rates, more developers will be taking notice of Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston Counties,” Cain said in a news release.

Here’s a graphical look at apartment rental trends in Kitsap: