Prineville works to keep up with rental market needs

A growing population in Prineville is causing its rental market to feel some growing pains.

With more businesses moving to Crook County, more people are looking for places to live in Prineville, and until recently, rental property options were slim.

Michael Warren, a real estate broker with Crook County Properties, said Tuesday he’s always hearing from clients wanting to invest in rental properties, as well as those moving to Prineville for work.

Because of growing demand, he added options are slim in Crook County, and the price for some rentals is going up.

“They come available, they get filled,” Warren said. “And it gets tough, because not a lot of people can come up with a down payment and stuff like that.”

Warren said its hard to pinpoint the demographic of those moving to Prineville, since new residents fit into several age groups.

City officials said they realize the rental options in the city have become harder to come by, especially with the new Facebook data center expansion.

Phil Stenbeck, Prineville’s planning director, said that since 2015, the city council has made it a priority for the Planning Department to support land uses for rental properties.

Stenbeck said the housing market in Prineville is about 45 percent rentals and 55 percent owner-occupied.

Now, they are working to provide more other types of housing options across the city.

“Historically, up until about 2014, the only thing you saw since about 2007 to 2014 being built in Prineville was single-family dwellings,” Stenbeck said. “There were some years that we saw three built in a year.”

The city is now allowing for development of more high density housing options, like duplexes and four-plexes, to add some variety in housing options.

They want to be able to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to a growing population.

The city is also working to make sure there are affordable housing options, as well as shelters in place for those who need them.