Sell Your Commercial Property In Morgantown, WV

Who rents in Morgantown

Renters occupy 56.3% of Morgantown's 11,946 occupied homes, or 6,726 households, in ACS 2020-2024 table B25003. Monongalia County's renter share is 42.1%, and West Virginia's is 25.1%. Morgantown holds 35.8% of the county's 18,811 renter households.

West Virginia University supplies most of that demand. WVU reports a fall 2025 headcount of 23,532 on its Morgantown campus. It also lists 2,355 full-time instructional faculty and 3,060 staff.

J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital adds a second, year-round tenant base. The WVU School of Medicine calls Ruby the flagship hospital of the WVU Medicine Health System, with 840 beds. Its pathology program describes Ruby as a Level 1 trauma center.

Rents and affordability in Morgantown

Median gross rent in Morgantown was $937 a month in ACS 2020-2024. Median household income was $44,727 over the same period. A year of median rent, $11,244, equals 25.1% of that income.

Student households pull the income figures down. In Morgantown, 58.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of income on housing, per table B25070. Another 37.6% pay half or more, against 20.3% statewide.

HUD's FY2027 fair market rents for the Morgantown, WV MSA took effect October 1, 2026. The table shows HUD's monthly benchmark by unit size.

Source: HUD FMR documentation. The two-bedroom figure sits $206 above Morgantown's median gross rent, which blends older units and studios.

Morgantown's apartment stock

Morgantown has 3,876 homes in buildings of five or more units, 27.9% of its 13,879 housing units, per table B25024. The share is 23.9% in Monongalia County and 7.8% statewide. Morgantown holds 32.5% of the county's 11,929 such homes.

Most of that stock sits in larger buildings. Morgantown counts 1,018 homes in 5-9 unit buildings and 579 in 10-19 unit buildings. Another 1,204 are in 20-49 unit buildings and 1,075 in buildings of 50 or more.

Morgantown's median year built is 1966, and 63.8% of homes predate 1980, per table B25034. Only 66 homes date from 2020 or later. Anyone planning to sell commercial real estate in Morgantown, WV should expect buyers to price roofs, wiring and plumbing on that older stock.

Rental vacancy was 8.7% in Morgantown over 2020-2024, against 8.3% in Monongalia County and 6.7% statewide. Buyers compare that rate with the occupancy history on each building's rent roll.

Property taxes in Monongalia County

An apartment building inside Morgantown pays $2.6368 per $100 of assessed value under Monongalia County's 2025 Class IV levy. WV Code 11-8-5 places all property inside a municipality in Class IV, except owner-occupied homes and farms. WV Code 11-8-6 caps aggregate Class IV levies at $2 per $100, before voter-approved excess levies.

WV Code 11-3-1 sets assessment annually as of July 1 at 60% of true and actual value. The Monongalia County Assessor's Tax Year 2026 guide splits the Morgantown rate by levy. Schools take $1.4976, the county $0.44 plus a $0.1892 excess levy, the city $0.50 and the state $0.01.

Here is the worked example. A $2,000,000 building is assessed at $1,200,000. At $2.6368 per $100, the annual bill is $31,641.60, an effective 1.58% of market value.

Star City and Westover carry the same $2.6368 rate. A building in an unincorporated district such as Union or Clinton pays $2.1368, or $25,641.60 on the same value. That $6,000 gap is the $0.50 municipal levy.

Value appeals go to the Monongalia County Commission, which sits as the board of equalization and review each February. The assessor's guide lists February 1 as the first hearing date and requires appointments.

A sale also triggers the WV Code 11-22-2 transfer excise. The base tax is $1.10 per $500 of value, or $4,400 on a $2,000,000 deed. A county excise of 55 cents to $1.65 per $500 is added, and the grantor pays unless the grantee accepts the deed unpaid. Owners who sell commercial property in Morgantown, WV should settle that split in the contract.

Landlord rules in Morgantown and West Virginia

Every rental unit inside Morgantown must be registered with the city under its 1979 Housing Code, according to Morgantown Code Enforcement. Units are inspected once every 3 years under the ICC property maintenance code. Owners have 20 days after an inspection to correct violations or face citations or condemnation.

WV Code 37-6A-2 requires a landlord to return the deposit, less itemized deductions, within the notice period. WV Code 37-6A-1 sets that period at 60 days after the tenancy ends or 45 days after a new tenant moves in, whichever is shorter.

A month-to-month tenancy ends on notice of one full rental period under WV Code 37-6-5. For unpaid rent, WV Code 55-3A-1 lets an owner file a verified petition in magistrate or circuit court. The hearing must fall 5 to 10 judicial days after filing. Registration letters and deposit ledgers are the first files a buyer requests when selling commercial property in Morgantown.

What this means for a Morgantown owner

Morgantown gives a seller a clear demand story: 23,532 WVU students, an 840-bed flagship hospital and a 56.3% renter share. Buyers will weigh that against 8.7% rental vacancy and a 1966 median year built.

Taxes are the other line buyers model. At $31,641.60 a year on a $2,000,000 building, the Class IV bill moves value as much as a rent increase. Run your own figures in our cap rate calculator before you sell your apartment building in Morgantown.

To sell commercial property in Morgantown, WV without a listing, our seller page explains how we underwrite. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit apartment buildings in Sunnyside, South Park, Star City and Westover.