Lititz, PA · Member since 2013 · 595 posts · 272 votes
Ithaca, NY is seeing even more new construction happening (100s of units in the works), despite a large number of projects having happened in the past 10 years. Ithaca is heavily dependent on the two colleges.
Student rentals are going empty, in particular in the larger and older apartments.
With all of the new construction, is there any existing student rental (or other) that will remain in demand? Are small-time landlords going to get stuck with less desirable tenants because the new stuff attracts all of the higher quality tenants?
Real Estate Agent · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2016 · 427 posts · 323 votes
1y
I have significant anecdotal evidence for this, though I wish I had a crystal ball.
With students, "less desirable" usually means kids who can pay a little less than the $1100+/bed being charged in the larger buildings. We're still not talking about significant eviction risk, or any more damage potential than normal. In fact, many of the students who avoid larger buildings are international, and tend to take better care of the units.
At the end of the day, though, there will always be upperclassmen who prefer an older house with fewer units. They have their own kitchens, they're living like real adults, access to a back yard, a front porch; all of these things will perpetually be attractive to them. The bigger problem in Ithaca is that property values are so high, there's not a lot of motivation (or financial room after purchase) for landlords to keep their units updated and nice. There's plenty of smaller multifamily student housing in Ithaca, but not much of it is actually decent.
All that to say: I don't expect all of this construction in Collegetown and elsewhere to wipe out the demand for smaller multifamily buildings. The problem is making the numbers work in this town!
Investor · Kennesaw, GA · Member since 2016 · 37 posts · 14 votes
1y
Hi William,
I think new, fancy housing will always get developed, but there will always be a demand for decent older student rentals. What are the specifics on these student rentals that are going vacant? If they have been properly maintained and the landlord is quick on future repairs that come up, they should never be empty (I have been doing student rentals in New Paltz, NY since 2004). Time will tell. Ithaca is a pretty attractive town, so there should always be demand.