Rental Housing Revival Hits the Central Coast Market
MBK Rental is bringing a rare rental housing property to the market with 85 apartments and 56 townhomes.
“The Central Coast has historically been a tight rental market, with some of the lowest rates of vacancy in the State of California,” Craig Jones, president of MBK Rental Living, tells GlobeSt.com. “When we first looked at the market, we noticed that most rental communities were fully leased with 6-12 month wait lists. There was pent-up demand for quality housing in a very desirable location. High barriers to entry, including slow growth initiatives and other entitlement hurdles, have historically limited the supply of new housing. Construction costs are also higher due to a limited supply of subcontractors in the area and getting materials to the site.”
While rental supply has been difficult to build in the market, the city leadership has actually been supportive of Blue Oak through entitlements, design and construction. “The City of Paso Robles has been fantastic to work with—very supportive of creating an apartment community that the city can be proud of,” says Jones. “We purchased the land with entitlements in hand, so much of the risk had been previously mitigated. It was a rare opportunity to build a project of this size in a market with such high demand. We were excited by the opportunity and are even more excited today to be a part of the community.”
With few new construction projects, the market has a limited supply of skilled construction labor. As a result, MBK has relied on local craftsman for the project. “While the speed of construction is limited by the availability of skilled labor in the area, we’ve been happy to work with local craftsmen and locally owned businesses to deliver a beautiful product,” says Jones.
The demand for this product is soaring, and it has highlighted the housing shortage in the Central Coast. “There continues to be a general housing shortage throughout the Central Coast and within Paso Robles,” says Jones. “Our wait list continues to grow each week and represents demand from the local area and faraway places.”
In bringing new product to market, Jones also emphasizes the importance of creating product that fits the local lifestyle. “The common theme is the local lifestyle, a great place to raise kids and the relative affordability of Paso and the surrounding area compared to the Bay Area and L.A.,” adds Jones. “Our apartments are larger than most, but cater to singles, families and empty nesters. We offer modern finishes typically found in new homes, including stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, wood plank-style flooring and 9-foot ceiling heights.”