Apartment business good in IU’s hometown

New figures show that Indiana University's hometown continues to be a good place for the apartment rental business.

The annual market update to the Monroe County Apartment Association puts the Bloomington apartment rental rate at 96.6 percent for last year. That's higher than Indianapolis at 93 percent and nearby Columbus at 95 percent.

Bloomington's average apartment rent was $892 last year, up nearly $60 in two years, the Herald-Times reported.

CBRE Group vice president Steve LaMotte said the city's apartment market has been helped by the enrollment at IU's main campus remaining over 42,000 students and local population growth of about 3 percent since 2010.

LaMotte says he doesn't expect an apartment construction boom in Bloomington because residents have typically resisted proposals for large new complexes.