Evanston, WY - Rental Market Over Saturation

[Kevin McFarland]

Hi All,

I work for someone looking to convert a run-down motel in Evanston, WY into a 44-unit apartment complex. The town has a population of about 12,000 people. From what I could find the city has about 5,300 total dwellings, of which, about 25%-30% are renter-occupied dwellings. And of those rent-occupied units, about 6% are 10 or more units. Also, from my research, I believe the rental vacancy to be around 10% - 11%. The apartments would be completely renovated from their current status as motel rooms, and we would charge competitive yet avoidable rents for the area. My question is, how do I approach the analysis of determining market saturation? How can I best determine if there is enough demand in the city to sustain another 44 units? Some quick googling yesterday, I found that within 2 miles of our location there are three apartment complexes with a total of about 238 units. For what it's worth, we are planning to have about 35 two-bed/one-bath units and 9 studio units. Any thoughts, recommendations, or advice? I am very new to this so any input would be appreciated!