High Vacancies, High Rents: Fairbanks Housing Crisis

0:00Fairbanks, Alaska, boasts the state's highest rental vacancy rate at 13.5% from last year's data, topping all track regions. You think that means plenty of options and cheap rents, but nah, it's not playing out that way. Average monthly rent sits at $1,523. Right up there with Anchorage's $14.74, and Juno's $1,504. Economists point out these vacancy numbers are just snapshots from short surveys. Early mid-march, ignoring wild seasonal swings from the university, tourism, and big military bases, like Fort Wayne Wright and Eelson. Plus, most available spots are small, one or two bedroom apartments, with barely any three-plus bedroom units or detached houses hitting the market. Rincers are feeling the squeeze hard. A marine biology grad student last summer got just weeks to find a new place between field gigs and called the hunt a nightmare, even with all those. These on paper, local housing groups say folks are desperate, and military families

1:01gripe about subpar quality compared to other bases. Burrill surveys catch more nuance quarterly, showing vacancies dipping to 7.4% in summer 2024 before climbing back. Up to five back, officials just greenlit major tax breaks, up to a decade off property taxes for multi-family builds, with millions in savings gearing up. For nearly 1,000 new service members and families soon, applications run through 2028, so this could pump out more units for everyone, military, and civilians alike. One renter scored a decent downtown spot, but plans to balance after school, blaming sky-high living costs overall. The market's evolving, but for now, high vacancies ain't delivering the renter's paradise. I'm Cory with the story, and you've been listening to Anchorage News today, AI-powered local news.