Spatial Trends of Multi-Home Ownership in College-Towns versus Non-College Towns

College towns are often defined by their unique reliance economically on the presence of a college or university, with higher education providing much of the employment and fostering a large renter market. And, in recent years, housing costs have risen rapidly, including in college towns. One thought on this phenomena is the consolidation of houses into the control of fewer and fewer hands. Thus, this project concerned itself with the spatial patterns of multiple home ownership (MHO) in college towns and non-college towns. Data was collected for Ellensburg and Cheney in the former category, and Everett, Sunnyside, and Wenatchee in the latter. County parcel data was acquired and processed through ArcGIS Pro and Excel to identify parcels owned by individuals or entities that own multiple parcels in the same community. These patterns were then used to calculate MHO percentages for number of parcels, acreage, and value of parcels. Wenatchee proved to be an outlier with a high level of MHO in neighborhoods outside the urban core. However, the two college towns had a greater concentration of MHO in their core than the other towns, and had high concentrations even in outer areas. This could be one of the reasons why the housing market is rising at a rapid rate.