How competitiveis the housing market in Ann Arbor for apt. rentals? (wood floors, sales)

[Lisa H.]

I will be moving to Ann Arbor in August. I'm thinking of Kerrytown, Old West Side, or possibly the Germantown areas.


I just wondered how competitive and tight the rental market is with all the university students looking for housing?



I thought that perhaps with Covid-19, students might be waiting to see if UMich will re-open "in-person" for certain before renting apartments, however I have noticed that online rental listings disappear quickly.



Would I be better off trying to rent a studio apartment online now, or waiting until I arrive in August and can look at rentals in person?


Not sure it matters, but I'm looking for a studio, or an unlikely small one bedroom, and am "hoping" not to pay more than $1300.

[craig11152]

generally speaking it is very competitive. But clearly we are in a very fluid situation with no hard answers. The biggest unknown is the status of the University in September. Answers should come soon as other public Universities in the state are coming out with fall plans. If you subscribe to better safe than sorry you should grab something sooner rather than later.
Between Google street view giving you sense of the neighborhood and hopefully decent pictures of the apartment inside you shouldn't be overly shocked when you arrive.

[aa1986]

Are you coming here as a student? Is it important to you to be within walking distance of, say, the University or the Hospital system?

I would say, yes, the rental market is extremely competitive. And I would say Covid may not change that because students want to make sure they have housing "just in case".

However, because of Covid, you may luck out. If classes don't re-open "in person", are you are coming no matter what... there might be a deluge of students looking to sublet to offset the lease they are bound to.

As far as what the rentals look like in-person... I'm going to speak in very general terms, but the neighborhoods you listed are definitely an older stock of homes. Think 1940s. When I rented in Kerrytown, it had creaky wood floors, probably lead paint walls, and that indestructable pink/cyan tiling that ran halfway up the walls in the bathroom that had a clawfoot tub. There may be others that are renovated/modernized, but I would expect those would go for more than $1300.

[Lisa H.]

Thanks for your replies!


I'd like to be within a mile or so of the hospital system. I actually love the older buildings, creaky floors and all, though maybe not the lead paint.


I will definitely start to look online now. I can't check the computer 24/7 though, so hope that places rent in a couple of days time, and not a couple of hours time. Though if the market is really competitive, it sounds like I'll need to check the computer a few times a day.

[aa1986]

Feel free to list out potential places, and we'll tell you what we know.

Other apartments that I know of for medical students are:
"Maiden Lane" which is literally across the street from the main hospital. There are Nielsen Square condos and Island Drive apartments that may have some leases.
Further north there is what I call the "Barton Dr." neighborhood which I think is similar to Old West Side but just a little closer to the Hospital but further than downtown.
If you go further north of that, that is the north campus area of the University, with graduate housing and housing that looks a bit newer.
The draw, for me, of Germantown and the Old West Side is it's proximity to the vibe/energy of downtown if you're into that.

The Ann Arbor bus system runs pretty regularly within these neighborhoods to the medical campus.

[Lisa H.]

Thanks so much, I will check these out!

[xz2y]

I'll add my 2 cents. I've rented in many parts of town and in general, since A2 is a college town, your landlord might be as important or even more important, than the apartment itself. A2, like all college towns, is dominated by a handful of large "landlords," sometimes referred to as "slumlords." Not to paint with a broad brush, but many of these large property management companies take advantage of students and don't maintain their properties, either old or new, and will ask you to renew for the following year about 6-8 months in advance, before you've even lived there for more than a couple months.

Rents are generally high for what you get, again, because of the college students and competition for apartments in the city. I would look at the university's off campus housing listings (whether you are a student or not), sometimes there are profs renting rooms or smaller units as part of their homes, and also if you use craigslist or rentlinx, focus on smaller LL, not the large prop mgmt companies. The good listings go fast, and there are also a lot of scams posted, as in any college town.

Beware of high end condos (such as on the west side near downtown) being listed for absurdly low rents ($2500/mo condos listed for $895, etc). Those are scams. Those listings simply cut and paste descriptions from condo sales listings and the scammers are looking for emails or phone numbers of people who respond to their fake ads to use for spam purposes. Don't fall for it. Rents are high here and low rents for incredible places should be a flag.

Never rent without seeing it first hand, or have a friend look for you if you are out of town. Also check out reviews of various properties on google. The big prop mgmt companies mostly have terrible reviews, which are accurate.

$1300-1500 is normal for A2 in the city for a small, older unit in an older house that's been converted to apartments. Remember there will be noise/parties, if the house is all students renting apartments. This may or may not be a problem, but it's the reality in a college town.

Good luck!