Comparing Loft Rentals with Area Rentals

The US Census came out in 2000, around the time the two big loft rental projects were underway. This permits one to do some comparisons with the reported rents and what the Census was showing for the rental market.

First the census establishes sizes of rental units: No Bedroom (ie studios or efficiencies), One, Two, and Three or More bedrooms. Then it counts the number of units (based on a sample) by gross rent by size of rental unit, allowin a distribution by price range.

For the no bedroom and one bedroom units in Greene and Montgomery County on can see the following distributions:

Media reports were giving $450/mo and $550/mo for studios at the Cannery and St Clair Lofts. The media also reported a later (2003) $550/mo for one bedroom rentals at St Clair.

Distributions for two and three bedrooms, and the reported asking prices for two bedrooms at St Clair and the Cannery. The media report St Clair Lofts backed off from its original $1,100/mo asking price.


As one can see one could get a three bedroom rental for less than a one or two bedroom rental at the two downtown lofts.

Combining the sets into a grouping, one can see most rentals where between $300/mo and $749/mo
Now, lets take a look at two suburban edge cities which would be competetive with downtown for rentals as well other things.

These areas that had a lot of apartments and a young adult population: WSU/Fairfeld Commons area combined with the Springboro Pike/OH 725 areas (Dayton Mall and points south and east. This area would be more upscale (so one wouldn't see slum rentals pulling the prices down) and closer to white collar work, so perhaps the same or similar market for loft housing, and the distribution does skew higher, with the St Clair rentals being pretty much in line for one bedrooms but a little higher for the two, but still within range.

Taking a closer look at price ranges. These graphs look at price ranges within unit sizes, or what % of a unit type fits within what price range. One can see the two bedroom rentals for both St Clair and Cannery fall into the upper price range, with most units in Montgomery/Greene Counties below $799/month.
Looking at the comparable edge city suburban areas, one sees that the St Clair is pretty much right in the $500-$799 range for one bedrooms, competetive for this type of unit, and slightly higher for two bedrooms. Backing off that intial $1,100/mo rental really moved St Clair into the more reasonable upper end of the two-bed rental market.

The Cannery is not exactley off the chart, but its in the very top for two bedroom rentals, which might be edge city house or condo rentals, not all apartments.


The Cannery is actually pretty competetive for studio/efficiency rentals for this market, what little there are. Presuming these are fairly new units, not slum rentals, the Cannery is a good deal if one wants an urban option.

Those reported occupancy figures of 90% for St Clair Lofts really makes sense now, as one can see this development was right in the same price ranges for the newer rentals out in the edge cities, though one could have gotten a better deal for a two bedroom in suburbia.