Rents remain high and vacancies low in Juneau’s housing market, according to state data. However, unemployment is also relatively high amid the pandemic, and that worries city officials about what might happen as federal benefits dry up.<\/p>\n
“The natural seasonal work period is ending, the eviction moratorium has ended, there’s less amount of resources,” said Scott Ciambor, chief housing officer for the City and Borough of Juneau, referring to the various payments from state and federal agencies which have either expired or will soon end. <\/p>\n
Monday, the state announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a federal grant for Alaska that will result in a $300 per week increase in unemployment benefits. It is expected to take about eight weeks for funds to be dispersed, according to the state, and the increase will be retroactive to when $600 federal unemployment payments ended. <\/p>\n
The lack of a summer tourist season doesn’t seem to have affected the housing market in Juneau as much as some other Southeast communities, according to the August issue of Trends magazine from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Despite the pandemic, rents and vacancy rates in the city also remain relatively stable from last year.<\/p>\n
The state’s labor department conducted a landlord survey in March before any travel restrictions were in place in Alaska, said Rob Kreiger, an economist for the department. Late February and March is when seasonal workers typically start to arrive, Kreiger said, but in their interviews with landlords, DOL researchers learned those workers weren’t showing up, particularly in smaller communities with less diverse economies.<\/p>\n
“Sitka had very high vacancy rates, which is unusual,” Kreiger said in a phone interview with the Empire Monday. Landlords in interviews “specifically called out the fact a lot of people who work in Sitka for the summer arrive in February and March weren’t showing up.”<\/p>\n
DOL data show Sitka’s vacancy rate in March at 13.8%, the second highest of the communities surveyed behind Fairbanks North Star Borough at an even 19%. Juneau’s 4.4% vacancy rate was the lowest of the communities surveyed by DOL. Juneau’s reported vacancy rate is less than statewide average of 9.2%.<\/p>\n