Some Ames property managers are feeling the squeeze of a soft rental market this year, and while they compete with each other for tenants, ISU students are reaping the benefits.

New or refurbished rental units continue to open their doors in Ames. As of June 30 there were more than 11,000 units in more than 3,000 structures throughout the city – and for property managers, such as Gary Hunziker of Hunziker Property Management, that has meant finding new ways to tempt interested renters.

Property managers are using incentives such as free security deposit.

“If you talk to a lot of landlords, the bottom line is suffering,” Hunziker said. “I’ve got a lot of older apartments that go for the same [price] as they did 10 years ago. I’ve got newer apartments going for the same as they did in 2000.

“Who’s benefiting? Half the city of Ames. They’re getting the best housing. There’s the best stock of housing since I’ve been in management,” Hunziker said. “That’s the upside of what’s going on. [Property managers] have got to be a lot more competitive.”

Although Hunziker said the boom in rental units as just “part of the cycle,” and that it will eventually plateau, Harbhajan Bal, who owns one 12-unit apartment building near North Grand Mall, sees the “oversaturation” of rental housing as a detriment to her livelihood – and something that should be stopped.

“I think they just keep building without any demand,” Bal said, although Clint Varley of Jensen Property Management said his company has had no problems this year filling its properties.

However, Bal, who has slashed rent at her building of two-bedroom apartments from $550 per month last year to between $515 to $530, believes she and other small property managers like her are losing out because of their size.

“Maybe they don’t [have trouble with vacancies] because they are big,” she said. “But we are small. It is hard for us to compete with those companies.

“You see all those signs all over town? For rent, for rent, for rent. [The city of Ames] should put a limit on [new rental units]. I don’t know why they keep giving them permission. There so many; too many.”

Hunziker, however, said she believes putting a stop to the building of new apartment buildings would do nothing but hurt consumers – including thousands of ISU students.

“I don’t think they should offer incentives to build apartments, but I don’t think they should have a moratorium either,” he said. “That may help fix the situation temporarily, but anytime they affect the market someone gets artificially helped.

“In this case it’s going to be the property owners, and the property owners are really a small percentage of the people that live in Ames.”

Jeff Benson, Ames city planner, said some property management companies do receive tax abatements when building new units, but only to help defer costs when replacing a run-down property with a newer, more costly one.

Abatements are also given when a building uses brick or extra landscaping – things not required of new structures.

“Of 1,000 recently built units, I’d be surprised if 300 of them received abatements,” Benson said.

Ames City Council members and some local property managers met Tuesday to discuss the direction of the rental property market, and city of Ames housing coordinator Vanessa Baker-Latimer said she is compiling current rental data to give the council a clearer picture of the current market.

But for now, the competitive off-campus housing market will continue giving ISU students an advantage.

“In the end, it’s a good thing for renters,” Varley said. “As competition increases you’re going to see people using any bargaining chip they can to entice consumers.”