Sell Your Commercial Property In Lee County, AL

Who rents in Lee County

Renters head 23,372 of the 69,436 occupied households in Lee County, a 33.7% share in the 2020-2024 ACS. Owners outnumber them, holding 46,064 households. Most of Lee County's renters live in Auburn, which holds about 60.6% of the county's renter households, largely thanks to Auburn University. Opelika and Phenix City add smaller but steady renter bases, at 30.9% and 47.6% renter shares.

Auburn also carries most of the county's apartment stock. The city holds roughly 82.3% of Lee County's units in buildings of five or more units, a sign of how concentrated multifamily supply is around the university. Lee County overall has 13,684 units in 5+ unit buildings, 17.2% of its housing stock.

Lee County's housing stock is relatively young, with a median year-built of 1997, reflecting decades of growth tied to the university and nearby employers. That newer stock, concentrated in Auburn, helps keep the county's overall vacancy rate near the levels found in larger Alabama metros.

Rents, growth and affordability

Lee County's median gross rent climbed 23.6%, from $856 to $1,058, between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 surveys, a $202 increase. Population grew 12.4% to 181,134 residents, adding 19,982 people. Employment rose faster, up 14.0% with 10,492 more jobs added across Lee County.

Rent burden runs high. In the 2020-2024 ACS, 57.3% of Lee County renters paid 30% or more of income on gross rent. HUD's FY2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for the Auburn-Opelika area is $1,277, effective October 1, 2026, which sits $219 above the county's median gross rent. Rental vacancy in Lee County is 8.1%.

City-by-city comparison

Auburn's $1,098 median gross rent is the highest in the table, paired with a 46.9% renter share and 9.2% rental vacancy. Opelika runs the lowest apartment density, with just 9.5% of its units in 5+ unit buildings.

Phenix City pairs a $967 median gross rent with the highest renter share of the three cities, at 47.6%. Opelika's renter share, at 30.9%, is the lowest in Lee County, and its 7.9% rental vacancy is the tightest of the three.

Property taxes and assessment in Lee County

Alabama assesses most commercial and rental property as Class II under Alabama Code Section 40-8-1, at 20% of fair market value, well above the 10% ratio for owner-occupied single-family homes. Lee County's assessor applies that ratio when valuing an apartment building, then local millage rates set the final bill. Buyers typically ask for the current assessed value and millage breakdown before pricing a Lee County deal.

Alabama also charges a deed transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 of value conveyed, under Alabama Code Section 40-22-1, due at closing. Sellers in Lee County should budget for that charge alongside any prorated property taxes.

Lee County does not publish a single countywide millage rate; rates vary by municipality and school district within the county. A seller should pull the current parcel tax bill from the Lee County Revenue Commissioner's office rather than estimate from a countywide average.

What this means if you sell in Lee County

When you sell commercial property in Lee County, AL, you are selling into a renter base concentrated around Auburn University. Renters hold 33.7% of Lee County households, and Auburn alone carries 60.6% of that renter pool. An 8.1% rental vacancy rate gives buyers room to underwrite lease-up risk, though Auburn's own figure runs higher at 9.2%.

Taxes come next. Lee County assesses rental property at 20% of market value under Alabama's Class II rules, and Alabama law bars local rent control, so buyers price rents by lease terms and market demand, not regulation. As a multifamily buyer in Lee County, AL, we review 5+ unit buildings from Auburn to Phenix City as they stand today. Send a current rent roll, a T-12 and the latest tax statement, and we will price the building on those numbers.