Evanston’s 2003 apartment vacancy rate is the highest one reported in 19 years, causing some local property companies to offer lower rents and special deals to prospective tenants — but these benefits remain out of reach for most Northwestern students.

A survey released by the real estate firm Arthur Goldner and Associates Inc. places the 2003 vacancy rate for Evanston apartment properties at 10.3 percent.

In previous years the survey reported vacancy rates consistently less than 5 percent. The vacancy rate for 2002 was 7.9 percent.

The increased vacancy rate is partially due to an influx of new condominiums being built in Evanston, said Tom Murray, a broker with the firm.

“What you’re seeing is the competition between the renters and the buyers,” Murray said, adding that, because of current low mortgage interest rates, more people are becoming buyers as a way to build their assets.

But the number of NU students renting properties in Evanston has not declined.

Apartments near NU’s campus are “the exception to everything,” said Andy Scott, a partner at North Shore Apartments and Condos Inc., a company that places prospective renters. “That seems to be a consistent demand.”

Because of the steady stream of students hungry for housing close to campus, many apartments managers might not offer the same incentives that would be given to renters who choose an apartment farther away.

“The farther away you get from Northwestern, the harder it is to rent apartments,” said Bonnie Nortman, a property manager at Arthur Goldner and Associates.

Although the firm offers rental incentives at its building on Judson Avenue, no special deals are given at its building at Hinman Avenue and Davis Street because it easily fills with students, Nortman said.

Many apartments offer deals such as one month’s free rent, move-in allowances, free parking or reduced rent, but NU students have to work to get these benefits.

“Last year, when we were getting our apartment, they didn’t offer it straight up, but they ended up giving us a half month’s rent off because I let them know we were interested in other places too,” said Education junior Jacki Carlsen, who lives at 2218 Maple Ave.

Although Carlson ended up renting the Maple Avenue apartment, other property companies have had mixed results when enticing tenants with special deals.

“I don’t think it really made that much of a difference,” said Sheldon Kantoff, a property manager for Parliament Enterprises Ltd. Parliament, which manages 400 Evanston apartments and has been giving both a move-in allowance and a month’s free rent in apartments with high vacancy levels since last summer.

But offering incentives has made a difference for B and A Property Group, which has 18 buildings in Evanston. Although they had 40 vacancies as of last winter, they currently only have six, regional manager Ed Crespo said.

“Back then I was giving a month’s free rent,” Crespo said. “Currently what we did was we reduced the rent slightly to make them more affordable and we stopped giving concessions.”

Scott said he thinks the demand for apartments might increase in the coming year, partially because of people moving into the area for new jobs, which could cause more companies to gradually stop their special deals.

“In 2003 it was rampant,” he said. “It seemed like every apartment had something free associated with it. I think that will be diminished in 2004.”