Tuesday, September 06, 2005

It's New Albany, Not New York

Over the next several days, we're going to try to examine the situation with rental properties in New Albany with a series of what we hope are provocative questions.

To get us started, here's Question 1:

Given to the normal rental rate for, say, a 700 s.f. 1-bedroom apartment in Southern Indiana, or even in Metro Louisville as a whole, what drives a rental market that makes landlords think $400 a month is a fair rental rate for a 180 s.f. room in a house designed for single-family residents?

Please feel free to offer your own insights to make this week's postings an interactive discussion.

4 Comments:

Blogger The New Albanian said...

Raeal estate agents, feel free to chime in -- after all, you're the enablers.

Sorry for that - wine hangovers make me nasty.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 9:41:00 AM  
Blogger Jeff Gillenwater said...

The sad part is that the same people who pay $400 a month for 180 square feet could own a home for the same amount.

If you figure a standard 30-year mortgage at 6% with annual insurance at $800 and property taxes at $350, a $400 a month payment would put you in a $50K house.

As of this morning, there are 23 such properties for sale in New Albany, ranging in size from 588 to 1680 square feet. The large majority of them are downtown.

If a low interest loan could be attained at around 4%, the same $400 per month payment could buy a $65K house. That adds another 27 currently available homes as options TODAY.

There's no doubt that some of the people who can't get credit for a home purchase have put themselves in that position via their own irresponsible behavior. For every one of those, though, there's a person or family with a steady job(s) and clean record(s) who just can't convince the bank to loan them the money that they would stake their pride on paying back.

Hopefully, the banks and real estate agents and the government agencies that control them will someday realize that community investment and neighborhood improvement will lead to increased private investment potential, market expansion and higher commissions in the long run.

With our aging population and gluttonous consumption of resources, new urbanism isn't a trend. It's a necessity.

A two or three percent interest rate hit and the assumption of just a little more risk in the present could jump start revitalization in short order, paying large dividends over the next decade for those with the vision to take advantage of this community’s urgent need for a community lending institution.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 12:08:00 PM  
Blogger na girl said...

A quick Google search came up with the following rentals rates for New Albany apartments:

Riverview (on Dewey St.) $275-395
Valley Ridge (Village West Dr) $379-499
Willow Run (Plaza Dr) $430-570
Sheffield Sq (Country Club Dr) $510-735
Prestwick Sq (Off Klerner Ln across from IUS) $525-570
Knobs Pointe (AKA Tree Tops) $559-860

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 4:25:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"There's no doubt that some of the people who can't get credit for a home purchase have put themselves in that position via their own irresponsible behavior"

And there is no doubt that there are plenty of people like me that have succumbed to a faulty health care system and have racked up close to $10,000 in medical bills over the past few years. The sad part is that I did have health insurance the whole time.

Now I can't even get approved for a $200 credit card...

Thursday, November 29, 2007 8:42:00 AM  

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