I spent most of today shopping for apartments. What I found was a lot of very small apartments, for what I consider a rather high price. Now, I know that living in West Michigan, I have no business complaining about high rents when there are people paying 5 times as much in other markets. Here’s what I found:

Beginning Rents:

1 Bedroom (about 700 sq. feet) – $600+

2 Bedrooms/1 Bath (about 900 sq. feet) – $650+

2 Bedrooms/2 Bath – $700+

Another interesting development of late is that many properties that used to include gas for heat and hot water are no longer offering it and have not lowered rents to compensate. However, many of the apartment communities here offer a pool and fitness center (some of which were very nice) easily replacing the need for a $40 or $50/mo. gym membership. There are also not many incentives for new renters, other than “hey sign a lease right now and we’ll give you $100 off!”. Sorry but I’m not a sucker for impulse decisions like that.

What is rent like where you are?

Technorati Tags: , , , ,