By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

On a local level, Yankton County might be suffering from a housing shortage.

At a City Commission meeting earlier this year, Commissioner Charlie Gross said the housing shortage question had been brought to his attention.

The question was raised at a recent City Commission meeting after the subject was brought to Commissioner Charlie Gross’s attention.

“I’ve heard we’re having trouble getting people to come to work in Yankton because of a housing shortage,” he told his fellow commissioners.

Gross said he was informed that people who work in Yankton are finding apartments in Vermillion.

“One of the concerns I heard was, you run the risk of losing them to Vermillion because Vermillion is also looking for (workers),” he stated. “If we’ve run out of apartments and housing in a certain price range, that’s something we need to ask the Economic Development Council, Yankton Area Progressive Growth or the Planning Commission to take a look at.”

Vision Real Estate rarely has rental openings, and when they do they typically get eaten up very quickly.

“I would say the biggest housing issue Yankton has is the shortage of market-rate apartments,” Community Development Director Dave Mingo said, referring to apartments that have no rent restrictions on them. “We could use some additional moderately-priced lots for smaller independent contractors to build on.”

According to Mingo, there are about 60 homes on the market listed between $75,000 and $130,000 — a price range that is in demand.

“We need to watch the situation closely,” Mingo said, noting there may be things the city can do to encourage home building.
Dan Specht of Vision Real Estate echoed Mingo’s concerns.

“What we’re hearing from the rental market is, there is a definite need for rental housing in a price range of $600 to $1,200 a month,” he said. “There is not a lot of rental housing available right now, especially for people with pets. It’s a crunch. I think there is some opportunity out there for potential investors to gain a lead in the rental market.”

Kaye O’Neal, of Shore to Shore Realty, does most of her work in Nebraska, but thinks there is a definite need for more housing in the area.

“For rentals, I see a huge need for rental property for folks who come into the area for temporary work, such as for the wind farms near Bloomfield,” she said.

Specht added that, even though there seems to be a shortage in housing in Yankton, overall the market has been relatively stable.

“The residental housing market, in terms of the number of sales, has been stable for the last three years,” he said. “We have seen some fluctuations in home values, but nothing too drastic. I think we’re starting to see the residental market tighten up a bit.”

He added that Vision Real Estate has been doing research on how the market in the area might be affected by a decrease in new home construction, and its relationship to the number of lots sold and the number of buildable lots currently on the market.

“The research will help us get a better understanding about where the market is heading,” Specht said. “Our residential rental market is something we don’t get into too much. However, we do see a need for that type of housing. My best guess is that Yankton is missing out on that 2-3 bedroom units that rent for $750-$1,000 a month.”

He continued by saying the market here in the area could use a few more homes in each price range. He said there are not as many homes on the market as there have been in the past 5-7 years.
“Some of that is due to the decline of new construction in both spec and custom homes,” Specht said. “When a home is built, many times those people are selling a home that is of less value, thus opening up the market. That is not happening as much today as past years, leaving the affordable housing market a bit behind.”

He said, based on speculation, Yankton and the surrounding areas will continue to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise and the development of infrastructure, including roads, will play a vitale role in the development of new lots.

“Gone are the days of $15,000 and $20,000 lots as land values, as infrastructure costs have increased,” Specht aded. “We will see some continued rehabilitation of older homes by investors, which provides good housing and upgrades neighborhoods. I also think we will see a new apartment complex aimed at that $850 a month renter. Those renters appear to be out there, but the apartments aren’t.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal