Apartment glut in SLC leads to lower rents and incentives from landlords

SALT LAKE CITY — Rents are down in the Salt Lake City market. To such an extent, renters are being offered incentives to move in.

After four years of record supply and double-digit rent growth, now there is a glut, leading to competition, heavy concessions and an average drop in rents of 8.25%.

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Paul Smith of the Rental Housing Association of Utah said potential tenants are being offered deals, including vacations and gift cards worth thousands of dollars.

“We’re seeing apartment owners who need to get permanent financing, and so they offer two months—sometimes as much as three months—concessions to get renters in the door.”

Smith said he expects the rates to stay low through next year.

“Now is actually a terrific time to rent, and we anticipate—unless rates go down dramatically and supply picks up dramatically—then it’s going to be a better time to rent than to buy for quite a few years.”

Smith said that while rents are stable in most areas outside of Salt Lake City, they will start increasing if in-migration grows and the glut of apartments is absorbed.

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