
- Has 2 bedroom apartments going for $795/person/month = $1590 + utilities!
- Has 3 and 4 bedroom units for $595/person/month plus utilities
- Penthouse suites are $1000, but we don’t know how many bedrooms they have yet.
These prices set out by Lux London are smashing previous highs that we have seen in the rental market. Lux London is the new Varsity Commons (student buildings in downtown London) and they are charging tenants an arm and a leg for high end accommodation, location and amenities. For a two bedroom apartment $1590 with utilities and internet/cable quickly turns into $1800/month, which is $900 in rent/person. Yes there are a number of advantages to living in a new, modern building, and although I do believe the Lux London will fill up fast, the rent is very high. In my opinion they are able to charge this much because they do not have any competition in this top tier of the market: they have created their own category.
Should your average student rent from here? I don’t believe your average student can afford to live here and pay for things like tuition and books. Your average bedroom at Western rents for $400-$550 with utilities on a 12 month lease, usually with 4 or 5 tenants. Obviously in apartments the price would go up, but to almost pay $900 in accommodations for a two bedroom apartment every month is very steep for your average student. If you want the prestige of living in this building, then you need to hurry and get to renting it out because once this is full the Landlords in the region will be back in business.
Many Landlords in the area have asked me if this building will affect their opportunity to rent next year, and the short answer is no. One cannot compare a $55 million dollar new building to a single family residential student rental property. However, most Landlords own 5 bedroom homes, and Lux London does not directly compete with group of 5 rentals. Therefore, there will still be a large group of first year students who are looking for a large house close to campus that accommodates 5 tenants on a 12 month lease. The selling point on these properties now is very simple: do you want to pay $500/month and have everything you need, or roughly $900/month and have everything you want? For most students, the answer is very clear.