Housing releases landlord survey

In an attempt to help students make informed decisions about their off-campus housing options, the Off-Campus Housing Program has released the results of its 1998 Rental Rate Survey.

The surveys, completed by landlords registered with the University, found that rates increased 3 percent from 1997 to 1998 - the lowest increase Ann Arbor has seen in more than two years. During the past five years, rental rates in Ann Arbor have increased 19 percent.

Off-Campus Housing Adviser Amy Star said landlords can use the survey's results in various ways.

"The survey can be used by the landlords as a benchmark for determining what equivalent rental property is being rented for," Star said.

Star added that respondents had a longer period in which to answer the survey this year in order for the housing office to receive as much data as possible. Star said she is also concerned with the progressively earlier start of the leasing season each year.

"We want to alleviate students' feelings of pressure to secure a place for the following fall," Star said. "Once the leasing season starts, everyone gets caught up in the frenzy."

The rental rates reported in the survey were averages of the data received by the Off-Campus Housing Program from the registration materials filled out by landlords. Only landlords registered with the Off-Campus Housing Program are eligible to participate in the survey.

The survey revealed that when students choose to live in the outskirts of campus - defined as being a drive of ten minutes or more to Central Campus - they can save an average of 16 percent in rent when compared with housing options closer to campus.

Students can also save in monthly rent if they choose a 12-month lease rather than an eight-month one.

Jani Platz, the property supervisor from Prime Student Housing, Inc., is concerned with the accuracy of the survey.

"I've spoken with the University because they are not asking the right questions on the survey," Platz said. "The facts are misleading because they are comparing apples to apples."

Platz added that the survey isn't considering the location of the surveyed housing units, the type of unit - one level or bi-level - or additional options such as parking, fireplaces or included utilities, that would increase the rental value.

The survey is intended to help prospective tenants make an informed decision about where to sign a lease, but Platz said she feels that the information outlined in the results of the survey is too late to have any impact on students' decisions.

Representatives from the Off-Campus Housing Program said they acknowledge that the survey could be stronger and could provide more information for students.

"We're trying to make the survey more detailed, our biggest struggle is getting more data back from the registered landlords," Platz said. "Not all of the registered landlords respond to the survey."

The impact the survey will have on students' decisions is uncertain. Varsity Management Leasing Agent Brooke Horzelski said she doesn't think the survey will affect the number of students interested in signing an off-campus lease in the fall.

"Kids around here want to live on-campus," Horzelski said. "They're going to rent regardless."

Many University students said that they weren't aware of the information available from the Off-Campus Housing Survey.

"I've never heard of the survey," Colleen McGraw said, an Engineering senior.

04-01-99