appetite for infill or redevelopment aside from some interest in accessory dwelling units. <br />However, in the longer term, more of the units owned by older householders are likely <br />to turn over to new owners, creating opportunities for new families to move in or for <br />new owners to consider infill or redevelopment options. <br />The median income in the River Road/Santa Clara area is higher than the city and region <br />over all. Most of the higher -income households are homeowners. <br />While rates of renter cost burden are lower than in the city and region as a whole, more <br />than half the renters in the River Road/Santa Clara area spend more than 30% of their <br />income on rent, including over 90% of renters earning less than $35,000 per year. These <br />renters could be vulnerable to displacement if rents in the area increase as a result of <br />transit, infrastructure, or private investments. <br />There are about 2,350 likely rental housing units in the Corridor Study Area .2 They <br />include a mix of single family rentals, duplex/triplex/fourplex units, and apartments. Of <br />these, roughly 1,780 units (excluding regulated affordable housing, retirement/nursing <br />homes, and recent construction, which tends to charge top -of -market rents) may be <br />more susceptible to rent increases if market conditions change in the area. <br />Market Conditions <br />River Road/Santa Clara area home values are slightly lower than the city overall, with an <br />average sales price of $287,000 in 2018 compared to $310,000 in Eugene. The sales price <br />of homes in the River Road/Santa Clara area built since 2008 averaged roughly $200 per <br />sq ft in 2018, compared to roughly $210 per sq ft citywide. <br />■ Rents for single family homes are lower in the River Road/Santa Clara area than in most <br />other parts of the region. The average single family rent in the River Road/Santa Clara <br />area is roughly $1,460 per month. <br />While older apartments in the River Road/Santa Clara area have lower rents than the <br />citywide average, the Ecco Apartments, built in 2014, are closer to the top of market for <br />multifamily units in Eugene (excluding student housing). Top multifamily rents for new <br />properties in comparable locations in Eugene range from $1.20 per square foot per <br />month (for larger units) to over $2.20 per square foot (for smaller units), with an average <br />of roughly $1.70 per square foot. <br />■ Vacancy rates for multifamily rental housing in the River Road/Santa Clara area have <br />been declining slowly and are lower than they have been in at least 18 years. This is <br />consistent with the trend in the city overall. <br />■ Retail space in the River Road/Santa Clara area is largely strip commercial in buildings <br />that are at least 10 years old. From 2006 to 2018, retail rents declined in River Road and <br />2 The Corridor Study Area extends roughly a half -mile from River Road between Hunsaker and the Northwest <br />Expressway. <br />ECONorthwest 2 <br />175 <br />