A rental bargain
<p>Kym Wentzel, manager at Trail Lodge Apartment Complex near Ramsey Road and Kathleen Avenue, speaks about the changing prices of rent and services at the complex. A recent study found that rent in Idaho was roughly 25% lower then the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Candace Alward, resident at Trail Lodge Apartment Complex, sits on her back porch of her apartment where she has lived on and off for the last 12 years.</p>
<p>Trail Lodge Apartment Complex, near Ramsey Road and Kathleen Avenue, has needed to raise rental prices, however, they remain lover than the national average.</p>
As the economy rebounds, housing rental prices in Kootenai County and throughout Idaho remain a better bargain than in most other areas in the nation.
The latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows Gem State renters are paying nearly 25 percent less than renters in other states.
The Coeur d'Alene area's fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in 2015 is $743, compared to a national average of $1,006, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach report.
Samuel Wolkenhauer, Idaho Department of Labor regional economist for North Idaho, said he believes there are two factors driving the local housing rental price trend.
Wolkenhauer pointed first to the high level of building activity in Kootenai County in the years prior to the recent recession.
"From 2003 to 2007, Kootenai County averaged about 2 ? times as many residential building permits per capita as the national average," he said.
The result was a housing surplus that became evident in the following years, when vacancy rates for Kootenai County were 2-3 percentage points higher than the national rates.
"The second factor is the collision of lower incomes and high availability of land," Wolkenhauer said. "Idaho is well behind the nation in wages and income, so that constrains the ability of property owners to crank up rent. Unlike most consumer goods, the price of housing is much more contingent on local incomes."
Dion Borchert and Candace Alward, both tenants of Trail Lodge Apartments on Ramsey Road in Coeur d'Alene, each said the rent in Coeur d'Alene is much lower than in the cities where they previously lived.
Borchert relocated to Idaho from Minnesota two years ago.
"I don't make near what I did back in Minnesota, yet I am making it pretty good here," Borchert said.
Alward said she has a better quality of life in Idaho while spending less for housing.
"I couldn't get that in most other states," she said.
While housing rental prices remain low, demand has skyrocketed.
Janice Thompson from North Idaho Rental Company in Coeur d'Alene said she has applications pending for nearly every property she manages.
"We usually get them rented before the current tenants move. They fill up fast," Thompson said.
The average annual rental increase for North Idaho Rental Company properties is $25 per year. Those hikes are based on elevated property taxes, Thompson said.
Kym Wentzel, community manager for Trail Lodge Apartments, said there are not enough available rental units in the complex to accommodate the need.
"We turn away many, especially for one-bedrooms. There are not enough one-bedroom homes in the area," Wentzel said. "We currently have 30 people on the waiting list for one-bedrooms alone."
Vern Hanson, office manager of Rental Connection in Coeur d'Alene, said the market has changed greatly over the 30 years the company has operated in Kootenai County.
He said Rental Connection handles mainly apartments and mobile homes and sees very little change in the rental cost for their properties.
Even with a steady stream of renters ready to fill its units, Hanson said Rental Connection raises its rates less than once a year.
"It's a strong market with very few vacancies," Hanson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.