When it comes to searching for apartments in Gainesville, you may find that rental rates fluctuate from month to month. Honestly, rent prices can even change over a course of days. There are a few factors that contribute to the rising and falling of rental rates at the communities across Gainesville.
The University of Florida Schedule Creates Seasonality
Gainesville apartments offer rental rates based upon the season. You may find that it is much more affordable to sign your lease and move in during the middle of winter than it is during summer. Due to Gainesville being a college town, apartments often base their yearly leases off of school semesters. Typically, leases will begin in the summer, before the fall term starts. Since apartments are in high demand at this time and communities are usually already full, prices will typically increase.
Upgraded or Remodeled Apartments
Apartments in Gainesville that may raise their rent suddenly could be completing upgrades or remodels. As communities perform extensive upgrades, such as adding granite countertops or a washer and dryer, they will offset the costs by raising your rent. Since you will be getting a better quality product in the end, the increase in rental prices is justified. In more established communities, these upgrades may happen over a period of time, not all at once. This means that some units that are not updated in the community will rent for much less than the fully-upgraded ones. That gives renters more options when finding the perfect place to fit their budgets.
Square Footage, Location, and Add-ons
Gainesville apartments also base their rental prices on their floorplans. For instance, there may be a two layout options for a three bedroom unit in the same community. However, the first option may be significantly less money per month than the second option. You may wonder, since they are the same amount of bedrooms, why the price variance? A few factors contribute to this, including the square footage of the unit, the location of the unit (is it near the pool or does it have an amazing water view?) and the demand of that particular layout. If you stay on top of your search and the rent fluctuations around town, you will find your perfect apartment in Gainesville in no time!
Love your apartment? Take advantage of renewal specials.
Many student-centered communities will offer amazing renewal specials throughout the year. If you love your apartment and want to stay, it may help to re-sign your lease at the beginning of the year, say January, if your community is offering a promotion. This ensures you can lock in an amazing deal for the year and will not have to shell out more money if you decide to wait and re-sign during the summer. Check out this article for some things to think about before you renew.