Students making the jump from the residence halls to an apartment off campus can expect to shell out a little more cash for rent next year.
Most realtors will be raising rent anywhere from 1 to 7 percent.
“There will be limited increases for people coming in, but we aren’t even increasing rent to reflect costs of living increases this year,” said Pat Steane, property manager for Kohr Royer Griffith.
Buckeye Real Estate vice president Bill Graver said their prices would be going up by less than 3 percent in some cases.
“We maintain pretty even and moderate increases across the board,” Graver said.
A variety of factors affect rent increases.
The campus area plays a role in how much rent will be, said George Contakis, office manager for Pella Co.
He said housing in the northern part of campus, which includes Lane, Norwich and Northwood avenues, are all popular.
“Typically, the first year after (a renovation) is the year that looks at an increase,” Graver said.
Such remodeling could include the addition of central air, new counter tops, new tile floors and new carpeting.
Other factors realtors consider when deciding on rent is the economy, market values, property taxes and insurance.
“The economy is a big factor,” said Beth Essman, vice president for Sales One Realty Agency.
She said the agency is careful with the rent, though.
“With it (the economy) being sluggish the last few years, we don’t want to alienate any people,” Essman said.
“Mostly it’s linked to the costs of living, taxes and insurance increases,” she said. “It’s directly related to Sept. 11.”
Steane said the insurance companies took a large hit last year, and it still has an effect this year.
She said the riots after the Michigan game affected insurance costs.
“Insurance companies don’t want to deal with the liability of the campus area. After the Michigan game, I got calls from several insurance companies asking where the problems are, what’s going on and what we (the insurance companies) should expect,” Steane said.
Campus area realtors try to retain residents for multiple years. For renters who are staying in their residence the following year, the rent is often the same. If it does increase, it is by a lower percentage than for new renters.
“Some returning renters had some very minor or low increases — low enough to where it discourages them from moving,” Graver said. “We typically have 40 to 60 percent rent from us a second year.”
Rent will not be going up at every off-campus residence.
“At most of our places, we either reduced rent or kept it the same,” said Ben Smith, a leasing consultant for RZ Realty. “It was a tough market last year.”
Smith said when July and August come, if the agency’s rentals are still not at 100 percent occupancy, it lowers rent.
“The unique thing about campus rentals is if you don’t get them rented by September, then you’ll most likely have them empty for at least half the year,” Smith said.
Alex Kamerer, a sophomore in chemical engineering said the higher rent can create problems for OSU students.
“It’s going to make it tough for students to afford it. A lot of students are on a budget, so they may have trouble making rent,” Kamerer said.
It is cheaper to live off campus than in the residence halls, he said.
“Even if it becomes as expensive as living on campus, it would still be more convenient (to live off campus).”
Kamerer had a solution for students looking to avoid the problem of rent altogether.
“A lot of people will want to start being an R.A.,” Kamerer said.
