PROVO — September is usually not the best time to look for an apartment in Provo.
A few years ago, the rental market was so tight two college girls who couldn't find a place to live moved into a van and took showers at an RV park for a month.
But this year is different. There are For Rent signs everywhere, and landlords are begging for more tenants with discounts on rent and deposits.
"This time of year is supposed to be the high time. You're not supposed to see For Rent signs anywhere. A lot of people are singing the blues," said Dirk Beckstrand, a Provo landlord for 16 years.
Beckstrand says the Provo rental market is at the worst level he has ever seen, and others agree. Dave Freeman, a part owner of five of the largest properties in Provo, says most of his units have a vacancy rate of 23 percent or higher.
"I've never seen something like this before," Freeman said. "This year, if you wanted to live pretty much anywhere, even after school started, you could. There are vacancies all over the place. Something is weird."
Last year Branbury Park, which houses 1,000 tenants, was at 95 percent occupancy; this year it is only 60 percent full, according to a manager. The tale is the same at other apartment complexes near Brigham Young University.
And it's not just student housing complexes that are going empty. Brian Newman, a landlord who rents a 400-unit complex to families, says he is offering up to one month free rent to lure more tenants.
Freeman and others attribute the soaring vacancy rates primarily to a glut of rental housing in Provo and Orem, but construction of student complexes continues at a breakneck pace in both cities. Some landlords privately wish the construction would stop.
"There's beds just sitting empty, so there has been too much supply. That's obvious," Freeman said.
Gary McGinn, Provo city community development director, says most of the vacancies are in older, run-down units. Meanwhile, condominium units that offer private rooms, vaulted ceilings and leather couches as amenities are filling up fast, he said.
"Students are willing to drive miles to go to school if it means they can have their own bedroom and bathroom. I think some of these places near campus are just outdated. People don't want that style of living," McGinn said.
Freeman agrees that more students are choosing to live in condominiums, but he says they are doing so because they believe there is less supervision there, not because the units are superior. Cleaning checks are rare, and BYU's midnight curfew on weekdays is usually not enforced, he said.
"They know no one is looking over their shoulder," he said. "We are getting a more affluent student body, but I can compete on everything except a lack of supervision."
While upscale student condos like Belmont and Windsor Park are not experiencing the sort of vacancy rates seen at other apartment complexes, they are not full.
BYU's off-campus housing office lists 197 vacancies for single men, 372 for single women, and many of those are at condominiums like Belmont.
So what gives?
Freeman thinks BYU's single-student enrollment has dropped, even though its overall enrollment has held steady at about 30,000.
He also says Utah Valley State College students are choosing to stay home or are moving into new complexes built near their campus rather than moving to Provo.
"When the stock market took a hit, more parents had their kids stay home. People aren't poor, their paychecks are the same, but their 401(k)s aren't. People feel poor."
Freeman thinks the market will be bad for another three to four years.
"Beyond that, who knows?" he said.
E-MAIL: jhyde@desnews.com