Rental season has just begun and Madison’s thousands of students are all searching for the best deal on next year’s housing.
The criteria that constitutes a good apartment vary among the masses, but in general people are searching for a clean, centrally located apartment with amenities and reasonable rent. Most of these things are easy to find and come standard with property management companies, but affordable pricing is quickly becoming a rare catch for renters.
Though 2013 will see the construction and opening of several new apartment buildings, added variety will not equate to cheaper options, and this is a serious problem for low-income students who don’t have cash to spend on luxury living.
Among the new apartment options is Madison Property Management’s X01 building, which rents one-bedrooms at a rate of $1495 per month, tacking on an additional $125 if there are two occupants sharing the room. Lucky, a more established commodity, can go for more than $1700 for a single room double occupancy. These popular but pricey choices are, of course, examples of beautiful buildings with spacious apartments and high quality furnishings. People who live there do so because of this and they are willing to pay the price for luxury living.
But other companies have similar prices and policies; even older, less desirable apartment spaces are priced at high rates. Students are left to fend for themselves or cut their budgets elsewhere. Even university-sponsored dormitories are just as costly as off-campus options.
This is particularly frustrating for dorm dwellers, because their landlord—the University of Wisconsin-Madison—knows they are in school. One might expect the university to be more understanding, to provide the cheapest housing available to support their students. But, as it turns out, the average cost of renting a double room in a dorm is around $600 per person, $1200 total, with additional charges depending on the dorm. This is more reasonable than some apartment buildings, but keep in mind, dorms have only nine-month leases. Students living there have to make other arrangements over the summer, or go back to live with mom and dad each summer.
With only a 3-percent vacancy rate in the city of Madison, it is no wonder they can charge as much as they like. Someone will rent the space, so there is no pressure to lower prices or accommodate the needs of a student in debt.
As a student myself, and a renter to boot, I’m more than a little put out. I understand everyone wants to make a healthy profit, but is one low-priced yet livable location too much to ask? With hundreds of new apartment units to open next year and thousands of old units up for grabs, it shouldn’t be this difficult to find the right financial fit.
Wading through the sludge of overpriced options, I found only a couple really affordable apartments: Lofgren Properties and McBride Properties, each of which offer all amenities and are centrally located. Hopefully other rental companies will follow suit, but until then students must search scrupulously for the best deals.
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