“With the new change in the track system coming up in January, [renters] will have a month and a half when they won’t be able to rent,” said Doug Sorensen, assistant director of the BYU-Idaho Housing Office. “So they will either raise the annual prices or just the day rate … The university itself is just looking at the rising costs of utilities. Gas, heat and water have all gone up quite a bit.”

Although housing costs are difficult to predict very far in advance, Sorensen said that a good indicator of rising rates is increasing occupancy rates.

“Off-campus, we’re running about 95 percent occupancy,” Sorensen said. “Particular complexes do have waiting lists. Typically [complexes] watch each other. When someone makes a bold move, everybody follows.

“We try very hard not to have discussions among complexes so that everyone doesn’t conspire to raise their rates,” Sorensen said. “There are serious legal consequences to that. Everybody adjusts their rates from time to time. A lot of them will base it on the rate that they fill up. We try very hard to stay out of that end of their prices.”

Some students feel that the requirement to live in approved housing forces them to pay whatever prices the owners want, especially since the Housing Office determines where they can live but does not control housing prices.

“Pricing is a touchy issue,” Sorensen said. “We don’t get involved with dictating prices of off-campus housing … As the market tightens up, prices get higher. [When there is a high vacancy rate], the rates go down, or they add new amenities in order to attract new tenants.”

Housing owners may have rejoiced after Idaho legislators passed a 20 percent property tax cut in August, something students may have expected to bring housing prices down.

Jessica Pace, director of operations for Rexburg Housing, said the tax cut does little to offset other rising costs for apartment owners, including furnishings and utilities.

“[T]he tax cut is not impacting anybody significantly,” Pace said. “Every desk and every chair and every mattress that I own is taxed. It’s unbelievable, and that is certainly different from standard community housing.”

Pace said housing owners in Rexburg deal with unique issues other owners elsewhere don’t have, such as already-furnished apartments, utilities and a unique track system that causes turnover three times a year.

Shelbourne Apartments, a BYUI-approved men’s complex, is one complex with a zero vacancy rate.

The cost for each tenant recently increased this fall semester by $50.

“We went from $925 to $975 for a shared room and $1,025 to $1,075 for a private,” said Angela Stone, Shelbourne Apartments manager. “One of the biggest reasons was because of the increase in utility costs, gas prices, etc.”

When asked about whether or not Shelbourne planned on possibly raising rates because of the seven-week break between summer and fall semesters, Stone said that would not be a factor in their decision.

“We look at the cost of the business, what we’re putting into it, improvements that we’re making,” Stone said. “Just because there’s a seven-week break doesn’t mean that rates need to be increased because the semester lengths are very close to the same.”

Some apartment complexes are looking at raising housing rates during the summer months, such as Stone Brook, a married student complex, which may raise rates by $25.

“The owners determine that, but it probably has to do with other apartments in the area,” said Julia Jacobson, Stone Brook apartment manager. “If everyone else is raising their rent, then we would raise the rent as well, or the other way around.”

Despite low vacancy rates, some apartment complexes are doing the unexpected by lowering their rates.

One example is Nauvoo House, a complex for single students that offers housing to men and women in separate buildings.

During winter semester, rates will drop by $25.

“A lot of it has to do with competition and the complex getting older,” said Jaleen Gunderson, one of the managers of Nauvoo House. “We’re not as deluxe as The Ridge, or some other places. Another reason is because the owner is just being nice and lowering prices. And the calendar schedule at the school was a factor.”

Pace said the profit margin for Rexburg’s housing industry in not that high.

“I don’t think anybody is in student housing getting rich,” Pace said, who operates 10 apartment complexes in Rexburg. “As soon as you make money, you are turning around and sinking it into your building. The cost of living is high, the cost of perks are high. It’s not as easy as everyone
thinks it is.”

Related Article:

• Editorial: If students are forced to live in approved housing, why can't BYU-I do more about apartment prices?