Market Study Consultant Services

The Vendor is required to provide professional consultant to conduct a comprehensive collection and analysis of market data and conditions to develop a new county housing market study.
- The goal of this project is to gather and compile necessary data and to develop a comprehensive housing market needs assessment including recommended housing policy priorities and action items to support future development in targeted appropriate areas of the County.
- The study will be designed to create a fact-based policy approach for decision-making about a range of housing and neighborhood-related issues.
- This project will be used to help inform housing, development, and neighborhood investment strategies. 
- The study will yield an assessment of current demographic and economic conditions, analysis of housing market conditions and trends, and a site inventory.
- The final product will also include strategies for implementing recommendations moving forward, including available resources to consider for potential projects.
- The consultant’s role will be to research and analyze the current and emerging housing needs and trends in the County, developing a comprehensive housing report through a one-year (12-month) process.
- Formalize and Apply a Methodology to Identify Housing Needs and Trends:
•    Review local, county, and regional plans, policies, and studies related to housing conditions and market dynamics;
•    Analysis of prevailing development patterns, housing trends, and demographic shifts across the County and region;
•    Collect and update key demographic, economic, and housing data, including population characteristics, education, employment, income, poverty, housing stock (type, size, tenure, age, condition), resident mobility, and migration trends;
•    Identify organizations, agencies, and programs involved in the housing supply, affordability, and support system;
•    Assess geographic areas of racial, ethnic, and economic segregation and integration, and identify locations of concentrated poverty;
•    Analyze disparities in access to opportunity, including education, transportation, employment, and health care;
•    Evaluate housing accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including the availability of accessible units and accommodation needs;
•    Identify current and emerging needs through structured engagement with municipal officials, housing partners, real estate and construction professionals, financial institutions, regional employers, and others identified by the project committee;
•    Delineation of specific housing market boundaries throughout the county; and
•    Conduct at least one public meeting to gather community input and validate findings.
- Establish a Prioritization Process:
•    Review local and regional residential permits over the last decade to analyze existing and likely demand for market-rate for-sale and rental units;
•    Review local and regional residential sales of existing homes over the past decade, including sale price, type, bedroom/bathrooms, and other relevant comparable factors;
•    Review available data regarding local and regional rental market rates, available units by size of number of bedrooms, current and future rental demand, corporate structure and proximity of property owners and managers, and renter’s income to rent rate comparison;
•    Examine poverty, homelessness, sensitive populations (based on race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, familial status, national origin, having a disability, and having a type of disability), the elderly, disabled, etc. and identify any concentrated areas of poverty with regard to developing fair housing policies;
•    Review regional information available related to workforce-related housing demand identified by Micron, supply chain businesses, and other local or regional employers within a reasonable commuting distance; and
•    Assess gaps in housing typologies and resource coordination, evaluate community housing preferences, and analyze the condition and sustainability of the existing housing stock.