“Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot
the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on
nothing but food and water.”
TOUGH MULTI-FAMILY MARKET – For those of you that own multi-family property, the rental market since early 2003 has been a difficult one. Having thousands of soldiers deployed at any given time has caused rents to decrease and many owners have endured long-term vacancies. The seemingly endless construction of four-plexes and duplexes has created an over-supply, which has contributed to the soft rental market. Fortunately, we’ve seen a slowing in the construction of four-plexes due in part to new ordinances that require minimum parking spaces and irrigation systems. However, changing trends in the rental market are adding new challenges to owners of multi-family properties who are struggling to keep their units rented at reduced rates.
New large apartment communities are springing up around town, that are attracting renters with an array of amenities they simply won’t find in a four-plex or duplex. Earlier this year, Stone Creek Apartments announced the arrival of 148 new apartments, which will bring the complex’s total to 300 apartments when completed. They’ve added a second fitness center, swimming pool, clubhouse, basketball court, and sand volleyball court. Brookside Apartment Homes, located on the south end of W.S. Young Drive, began renting the first of their 176 units in March of this year. Brookside offers its residents a beautiful clubhouse, business center, complete kitchen and laundry facility, state of the art fitness center, a resort style pool, and much more.
Independence Place at Killeen is another new apartment community located on Water Crest Road with approximately 300 units offering sand volleyball, 24-hour fitness center, basketball court, game room, hot tub, and a poolside theater. Watercrest Place Apartments, another 240-unit apartment complex, is also under construction on Water Crest Road. Recently completed on Bacon Ranch Road in Killeen is Ridge Point Apartments, a 172-unit apartment community. The allure of conveniences and amenities that these communities offer will increasingly draw in many of our area’s young military families and be tough competition for owners of existing multi-family properties.
FALL FERTILIZATION – This month we will be fertilizing the yards of properties for owners that have requested this service. The cost of performing this service, which includes the fertilizer, is $65.00. If you would like your property to be added to our list, please contact our maintenance department at hrmaint@aol.com.
AUGUST TRAFFIC – We rented thirty properties last month, twenty-five single-family homes and five apartments. We ended the month with an overall occupancy rate of 96%.
David Gerke
CO-Owner/Broker