[hauntedheadnc]

And how is this shaking out elsewhere?

For renters, Asheville area market the worst in NC, 5th worst in the US, study says

ASHEVILLE - John Murtiashaw had a decent deal for an apartment. His small North Asheville unit had one bedroom and one bath. There was no central air conditioning or dishwasher and some of the other units sometimes had mice problems.

But the property managers were responsive about problems. And the owner raised the rent gradually, said Murtiashaw, 36, the sales manager for an outdoor apparel company specializing in Alpaca fiber.

"Every year he added $25 to the monthly rent. So, that's how I got to $820," he said.

That seemed reasonable, considering the painfully high rents around the city. Then in September, a new owner bought the apartment building at 37 Skyview Place for $1.1 million, according to property records. Tenants were told rents would go up drastically. Murtiashaw's was jumping nearly 70% to $1,375. Those who didn't want to pay had one month to move out. Dylan Glagow, listed as a member of the Asheville limited liability company that owns the building, could not be reached for comment.

The rent increase − which Murtiashaw called "predatory" and that he said didn't include any updates or fixes, including to an unstable fire escape covered with yellow caution tape − is a common feeling for Asheville area renters, according to a recent study.

Metrics analyzed by the California-based apartment search company RentCafe, such as vacancies and number of competing renters, showed the Asheville area was the state's worst market in 2022 for renters and the fifth-worst in the country. Asheville was behind only Fayetteville, Arkansas; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania; and Lafayette, Indiana.

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To measure how bad the markets were for renters, RentCafe used these metrics to calculate a "Rental Competitivity Index":

-The number of days rentals remained vacant.

-The percentage of apartments occupied by renters.

-The number of prospective renters competing for an apartment.

-The percentage of renters who renewed their leases.

-The share of new apartments completed.

The five-county area had a "sky-high" occupancy rate of 97.4%, with more than 70% of renters deciding to renew their lease and no less than 23 renters competing for the same vacant unit. Apartments for rent filled in just three weeks on average.

Many renters, particularly those in or near Asheville, say the situation is worse than that.

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Tourism, too, can make the rental market worse for those looking for housing, with properties often worth more as short-term vacation rentals − sometimes called "Airbnbs" after the popular online platform.

Sara Mendoza-Heath, 26, and other tenants, including Pete Arthur, 71, said they were given little time to leave their Weaverville rentals after new owners decided to tap into the tourist market.

"The told us they were going to give us a month's notice to move out so they could turn the two duplexes (four units altogether) into Airbnbs," Mendoza-Heath said.

Arthur, who works as a grocery store cashier, said he was paying $700 for a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom unit, while other renters were paying more than $1,000. He now rents a trailer for $700 from a friend in Leicester. The sudden change, he said, was jarring.

"I got kicked out after 16 years."

Harvard and Bryant LLC bought the duplexes for $500,000 in 2020, property records show. Asheville Wealth Advisor Joe Kiely, who is listed as a manager for the LLC, did not respond to a message seeking comment.