Housing Highlights

• The 2000 Census noted a total of 8,133 housing units in the City of Albert Lea. Approximately 73% of households in the City owned their housing and 27% was renter occupied.
   
• The average resale price of homes in 2004 was $95,827 in the City of Albert Lea. The average and median listing price for homes in November 2005 was $127,261 and $104,500, respectively. There were 161 homes in Albert Lea listed for sale in November/December 2005.
   
• In December 2005 the City had 12 active subdivisions. These subdivisions combined for a total of 174 lots (67 single family and 107 multifamily/twinhome). A total of 94 lots were available in these subdivisions. Most of the lots were priced for single family homes over $275,000 and twinhomes over $250,000.
   
• For the City of Albert Lea, vacancy rates for rental units were 3.8% for general occupancy subsidized units, 10.4% for general occupancy market rate units, 6.0% for senior subsidized units, and 6.1% for senior market rate independent units. A healthy rate is typically defined as 5%.
   
• For market rate units, monthly rents range from $288 to $465 with an average of $353 for one bedroom units. Two bedroom units ranged from $440 to $575 with an average of $490. Downtown Homes is the only property with efficiency units at $150 and Hilltop Manor is the only property with three bedroom units at $545.
   
• The City has approximately 2,085 housing units built prior to 1940 according to the 2000 Census. This accounts for over 26% of the City’s housing stock. A 2002 housing study completed by Partners in Housing Inc. found that as many as 600 homes in Albert Lea were candidates for housing rehabilitation. An additional 175 homes were identified as deteriorated and were functionally and physically obsolete.
   
• Albert Lea has added an average of 21 single-family homes per year since 2001. There were 122 multifamily units added between 2001 and 2005 with permits issued for 104 of those units in 2005.
   
• Approximately 2.6% of the City’s housing stock was mobile homes according to the 2000 Census. These units were located in Rainbow Terrace and Stony Creek Estates.
   
• Between 2005 and 2015, housing demand projections for Albert Lea show a need for 75 to 111 rental housing units and 356 to 378 owner occupied housing units.