The signs are all around town. "Free gas with lease." "Two months rent free." "Free scooter with lease."
Throughout Gainesville, apartment complexes are trying to get tenants into their vacant units. At the same time, new apartment or condo complexes seem to be popping up everywhere.
David Ling, a UF professor of real estate, said the supply for housing has surpassed the demand for it.
"The issues going on in the ownership market are helping the rental market," Ling said. "People who can't own homes rent."
The housing crisis has not had a direct impact on the Gainesville market because a large percentage of students are renters, Ling said.
However, he said Gainesville's economy has been affected by the national housing crisis and economic downturn. The downturn combined with the increase in available rental units has created a gap between the supply and demand for rentals.
Karen Kepner, a property manager for real estate development company AMJ Inc., said empty apartments are a result of new construction, which includes 4,000 new rental units in the area, and cuts in enrollment at UF.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said enrollment will continue to decrease.
"In four years total, there will be 4,000 fewer students," he said.
The official enrollment figures will not be released until January, but Orlando said the number will be about 1,000 fewer than the 52,271 students who enrolled in the 2007 fall semester.
With the shrinking student population and increase in available units, apartment complexes are finding ways to stay competitive.
Vanessa Neale, a manager for the referral service Apartment Hunters, said apartment complexes and property management companies will offer low or no security deposits, scooters, free gas or other "move-in specials" to draw renters to their apartments.
Kepner said because Gainesville's rental market coincides with the academic year, apartments that aren't filled in August or January aren't leased until the next semester.
This situation will probably force apartment complexes to cut back on some of their projects, Neale said. They might reduce the number of pool parties and extra events based on their reduced revenue.
Neale said she didn't think the situation would have a big impact on rent.
These specials often come out of companies' annual budgets and wouldn't force rent downward. She said she expects rent to go up but maybe not as much as it normally would.
"Like everyone else, their expenses are going up as well," Neale said.
