PLENTY OF RENTAL UNITS NOW AVAILABLE IN CITY

Finding affordable rental property could be a lot easier for new or relocating renters in Cape Girardeau this summer due to a favorable renter's market.

An uncommonly large number of rental apartments and properties are vacant this summer due to the end of Southeast Missouri State University's school year, families transferring or moving out of the city, and other unknown factors. Several property managers said they are having to advertise more and, in some cases, lower prices to compete against other realtors and landlords for renters.

"The contractors and some of the owners have overbuilt; we think there's probably around 300 more rental properties in town than there need to be," said Steve Campbell, owner of Campbell Realty. "We've had to lower prices and try all kinds of different things."

Campbell said some owners of rental properties are building to correspond with developing commercial districts on the west side of the city. Properties in south Cape Girardeau and the downtown area are filled for nine months, he said, but suffer during the summer when most students go home.

"The college students would prefer to live in that area, but you don't always have college students," Campbell said. "They're only here for two semesters. But other people call saying they want to get out of the downtown area and away from some of the high crime areas."

Mary Matthews, property manager for Williams-Noffell Trust, said her agency caters to many different types of renters, including student renters. The summer exodus of college students means more rental vacancies in the areas surrounding the university, she said, but generally, landlords who offer short-term leases up to three months are able to attract enough business interns and nontraditional students to fill many of the available properties.

But even the short-term leases haven't been able to make up the difference this year, she said.

"This year I'm running with more of a vacancy rate than I've had in nine years," said Matthews. "I've talked with other rental people and we seem to have the same complaints."

John Johnson, an employee at Wunderlich Real Estate, said his agency specializes in student rentals, including short-term leases. This summer did begin traditionally, he said, with an increased number of vacancies, but a surprise influx last week has resulted in properties being almost completely filled.

"We had a lot of vacancies, but in the last week we've filled between 10 to 15," Johnson said. "We've had a lot of families moving into the city and that's helped us a lot."

Johnson said he also believes there may be too many apartments available in Cape Girardeau's rental market, which makes it difficult for any to fill up during the summer.

"Looking at the number of rentals in the newspaper, and having talked with property managers, I know it's saturated," he said. "Like everyone else, we do all the things we have to do to let people know we're here. We advertise locally and outside of the city, we're listed with the Chamber of Commerce and with both hospitals and their relocation departments, and we rely on word of mouth."

Property managers said they expect the summer slump to end, typically, in August, when college students return for fall semester and businesses transfer in new employees. That's the way the market goes, they said, and realtors just have to follow the flow.