Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: News

The prices for apartments around Kirksville are increasing as the cost of goods and services goes up.

Kelli Nigh, complex manager for Vista Heights Realty, said they will impose a slight price increase.

"We have not done anything too drastic," Nigh said. "We are taking a $25 per month increase in January of 2009."

Nigh said prices are escalating by $300 a year because of the economy and the general rise in prices across the board.

"Everything is more expensive," she said. "All of our maintenance supplies are more expensive now - the electricity for the outside of the buildings, the washing machines and the security lights. Our costs have just gone up, so we have to pass that on a little bit."

Nigh said they hadn't increased prices in two years, and she doesn't expect it to increase much in the coming years.

Myma Frink, manager of Kirksville Gardens Apartments, said they only had to increase their price by $5 last February to keep up with costs.

Frink said they expected another price increase in the coming years but wasn't sure if it would come this year.

Kenneth Read, broker-owner at Heritage House Realty, said the supply was keeping their prices from dramatically increasing.

"Our costs have gone up so high we took some small increases," Read said. "We should have taken larger ones, but the market would not allow us to do that. There's enough supply out there that we haven't increased them to where they should be today."

Read said causes for the increase were higher taxes, higher insurance prices and maintenance costs such as snow removal and lawn mowing.

Sophomore Sean Cooksey said his rent has remained constant the last couple years, and he saw no reason for a change.

"I feel like it's pretty cheap because it's such a small town and a college town," Cooksey said. "There's no reason for it to go up because there's a constant supply of students. Even when the economy is great or in the tank, the economy of Kirksville is the same."

Senior Jason Sinclair said he expected the increase in prices because everything naturally increases in price over time. He said prices in Kirksville are fairly low compared to living on campus.

"My rent is not really high," he said. "Relatively speaking, it's affordable for a college student."

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