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SALT LAKE VALLEY -- Vacancy rates for large apartment complexes are up in the Salt Lake Valley but rent prices aren't going down.
The vacancy rate has more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, from 2.49 percent during the same time period of 2008 to 6.56 percent this year.
But rents have stayed the same. The CB Richard Ellis Apartment Report shows the average rent in Salt Lake County complexes of more than 100 units is $812, about the same as last year.
So why aren't rents going down with obvious increasing supply? Seth Rossow, multi-family specialist at CB Richard Ellis in Salt Lake, tells the Deseret News landlords are offering more perks instead, like free months' rent and flat screen TVs. One owner is holding a drawing for a new $30,000 car. According to the report, 64 percent of all units are offering concessions.
He says many renters are moving back home, sharing or renting vacant homes, anything to avoid a 12-month lease with job uncertainty.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
