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PROVO — There's a growing number of empty apartments in Provo and a major reason is because of the recent age change for LDS missionaries.
The lowered age for missionaries has led to a large number of BYU students, especially women, trying to sell their apartment contracts as they leave on missions. The classified ads are filled with discounted contracts for sale. But, there are currently more students leaving school than are coming.
One student actually delayed her mission a few months because she saw how many people were trying to sell their apartment contracts. She said she knows about 30 girls that are getting ready to leave on missions, and she has two roommates that already left school, but had to continue paying for their empty rooms because they couldn't find anyone to buy their contract.
Apartment managers say that the housing will eventually even itself out, but for now, a lot of students will be paying for a room they're not using for a few months.
The LDS Church says that right after the missionary age requirements changed, the number of people that signed up to serve jumped over 400 percent.
