When Jay and Jean Frey sold their home and moved into Donegal Crossing rental community, they expected it to be a short-term stay.
Danny and Nancy Whittle are trying to meet the growing demand
for short-term rentals by offering suit
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But the couple is "enjoying it so much, we're not sure we want to buy another house," said Jay Frey, co-pastor with his wife of Mount Joy Lord's House of Prayer.
It turns out that renting suits their busy lifestyle, he said.
The Freys have plenty of company. While the housing market struggles, many rental communities report they are at or near full occupancy, buoyed by an influx of downsizers, relocators and others.
Though some are renters by choice, others are people squeezed out of the home-buying market by more-stringent credit and lending requirements.
Rental renaissanceDavid Rubenstein, president of Keystone Real Estate & Management Inc., said two of the three rental communities he manages — Donegal Crossing in Mount Joy Township and Millcreek Manor in Lancaster Township — are at 100 percent occupancy.
The third, the Villas of Castleton in East Donegal Township, is "fully absorbed," he said, meaning the apartments are being leased as quickly as they're built — and sometimes sooner.
Donegal Crossing features 136 rentals from $950 to $1,150 a month; Millcreek Manor has 88 units from $1,095 to $1,025; and the Villas of Castleton, when finished, will consist of 160 apartments from $783 to $1,023.
Rubenstein, who's also consulted on other rental projects in the past decade, said he's not surprised the market's doing so well.
While the county's population continues to grow, he said, there's still an "undersupply" of newer, high-end apartments. Part of that is because the development process takes longer than it used to.
Rubenstein also noted that what has been built in Lancaster County in recent years is spread out geographically "so there's not an oversupply in one area."
In addition, more of the public is renting because the current mortgage environment, with its increasingly restrictive credit requirements, prevents many from qualifying to purchase a home, he said.
"That's shutting out people," Rubenstein said.
When the housing market was red-hot, he said, tenants were leaving rental communities to become home buyers; now when they leave, it's more likely because they found another apartment, Rubenstein said.
Plus, while the price of housing continues to rise, the relative affordability of renting increases, he said.
As the housing market recovers, the National Association of Realtors is expecting apartment vacancy rates to start going up, from 4.8 percent in the final quarter of 2007 to 5.7 percent in fourth quarter of 2008.
But right now, vacancies are few and far between, said Lisa Delgado, general manager of Boyd/Wilson Property Management, which oversees Pioneer Woods in West Lampeter Township and Village of Olde Hickory in Manheim Township.
Olde Hickory, constructed in the 1960s, has rentals from $765 to $1,050 a month, and Pioneer Woods, built in the 1970s, has units from $705 to $975.
Only three out of the 400 units at Olde Hickory are now available, she said, and Pioneer Woods — which is renovating 144 of its 160 rentals as they turn over — is leasing the upgraded apartments very quickly, Delgado said.
When home sales were through the roof, however, the situation was a lot different. "We were hurting then," she said.
But with no-down-payment mortgages disappearing, people are renting until they save enough money for a down payment, she said.
"We're at 100 percent occupancy and have been for quite a while," said Kathleen Shumate, property manager of the Crest at Elm Tree in Rapho Township, a rental community with 280 apartments.
There's even a waiting list, she said.
Rents in the Crest range from $789 to $1,399, Shumate said.
Lots of lease options are available, covering three months to five years, she said. "People love it so much" an increasing number are signing up for the five-year leases, Shumate said.
The Crest attracts a lot of professionals relocating to Lancaster County, as well as people choosing to sell their homes and rent because they want a lower-maintenance lifestyle, she said. Those in the latter category, Shumate noted, are getting "younger and younger."
Former bed-and-breakfast owners Danny and Nancy Whittle are trying to meet the growing demand for short-term rentals, for executives and others, by offering suites in the city.
The three-story building at 401 W. Walnut St., dating from the 1890s, already includes two such fully furnished units, which rent for $1,350 a month, with a third to open next year.
Stays can be as brief as one month or as long as six months, Danny Whittle said. When they operated the B&B, he said, it was hard to accommodate guests who wanted to stay more than a month, and this fills that void.
"We're full — I just had 10 leases in two days," said Caroline Sinz-Shompert, property manager of four rental communities.
She oversees the Highlands at Warwick in Warwick Township, featuring 195 apartments; Charleston Townhomes in Manor Township, with 68 rentals; and Fulton Manor and Colonial Apartments in Akron, which have 32 and 33 units, respectively.
"We had a phenomenal year last year," and 2008 is just as good, Sinz-Shompert said.
The Highlands is a decade old while the other three have been around 20 years. Rents at the Highlands are $889 to $1,399 a month. They're $699 to $779 at Fulton Manor, $699 at Colonial Apartments and $839 to $999 at Charleston Townhomes.
Many tenants are coming from out of state, Sinz-Shompert said, including some from areas where rents are more expensive.
There's also a waiting list of people who want to rent but aren't ready because they haven't been able to sell their homes, she said.
Gary and Shiela McKinney just moved into the Highlands from Virginia Beach, Va., after he accepted a job transfer.
"We are going to buy a house," Shiela McKinney said, adding that they enjoy renting in the meantime.
"The rental business has just been booming," said Kimber Emerick, property manager of the Landings at Eagle Heights in Manor Township. "We're almost at 100 percent."
Rents for the 260 apartments range from $739 to $1,248.
Before building was finished at the end of July, she said, "Fourteen units were coming on board a month."
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
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