KODIAK, Alaska (AP) - Rent prices in Kodiak are the highest in the state, according to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.
A survey of 2017 rental prices by the Alaska Department of Labor showed that rent in Kodiak averages $1,433, which is 19 percent more than the statewide average of $1,148, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported .
The figures include utility costs and factors in all rentals from studio apartments to three-bedroom houses.
Rents have remained relatively stable statewide since 2011, increasing by just $25. But in Kodiak, rent has jumped 18 percent during the same timeframe, the Daily Mirror reported.
Denise Brock, housing manager at the Kodiak Island Housing Authority, said renters in Kodiak are adopting strategies more commonly seen in large cities to manage housing costs.
“We’re seeing not just roommates living with roommates, but families living with families - to help with the fuel, electric, you name it,” Brock said. “We’re on an island; there are only so many rentals.”
The median household income in Kodiak is around $69,000, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Guidelines issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development say a family earning at that level should pay $1,350 or less per month in housing costs, around 30 percent of gross earnings after taxes.
A housing complex being built on Mill Bay Road will have 20 units, with 16 reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the median income. Another development slated to open in 2019 on Sharatin Road and Carroll Way will have 30 units, with 24 reserved for low-income renters.
While most of the units will be reserved for low-income families, many local residents would qualify, Brock said. Eight units will be available to the general public.
“With all of the rentals in the works being built, that should lower rents,” Brock said. “It might also affect property values as well. We’ll see how that pans out in the next two-to-three years.”
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Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com
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