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HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS <br />Introduction <br />The variety and condition of the housing stock in a community provides the basis for an <br />attractive living environment. Housing functions as a building block for neighborhoods and <br />goods and services. We examined the housing market in Elk River by reviewing data on the age <br />of the existing housing supply; examining residential building trends since 2000; and reviewing <br />housing data from the American Community Survey that relates to Elk River. <br />Residential Construction Trends 2000 to Present <br />Maxfield Research obtained data from the City of Elk River on the number of building permits <br />issued for new housing units in Elk River over the past decade and through September 2015. <br />Table HC -1 displays permits issued for single - family homes, townhomes /twin homes, and <br />multifamily dwellings of three or more units. Multifamily units include both for -sale <br />(condominium, twinhomes, and townhomes) and rental projects. <br />The City of Elk River issued permits for the construction of 2,704 new residential units from <br />2000 to 2010. That equates to about 246 units annually since 2000. After 2010, Elk River <br />has added only 330 units, or 66 per year. Of the 330 units added, 16 of those units were <br />apartments unit replaced due to fire. <br />Through 2006, the City of Elk River issued 93% of the overall permitted units over the <br />decade. Over that period, residential construction averaged over 354 units per year. <br />However, beginning in 2007, which was the start of the Great Recession, building permits <br />started declining rapidly, and from 2007 to 2010 the City has averaged only 37 units per <br />year. Since 2007, 75% of the units (419) have been single - family homes, 137 units (25 %) in <br />three multi - family apartment buildings and the remaining (19 units) being <br />rowhomes /townhomes. <br />• Since 2012, the City of Elk River has only issued an average of 71 residential permits (single - <br />family) and built an additional 52 unit affordable rental building. The City also added three <br />detached townhomes and replaced 16 apartment units that we destroyed by fire. This <br />indicates an improving housing market although much more conservative than in the <br />previous decade. <br />MAXFIELD RESEARCH & CONSULTING, LLC.. 31 <br />