Study finds Towson rent is pricey
By: Nick Koski, Staff Writer
In an analysis of over 9,000 active apartment listings for 14 cities in the Baltimore metropolitan area, apartment rental platform Zumper ranked Towson as the 5th most expensive city for rent.
One-bedroom apartments in Towson were priced at an average of $1,290 per month, while two-bedroom apartments cost an average of $1,440 per month, according to the report.
Despite the area’s fifth-place ranking, the cost of rent for one-bedroom apartments in Towson has decreased by 4.4 percent, and the cost of rent for two-bedroom apartments has decreased by 15 percent, since last year.
Student Shelby Clipp spoke to the difficulties of finding an apartment near campus within her price range.
“Finding a place that is in my price range was extremely difficult, so I was actually couch-surfing for a while until I finally found a place that’s like two miles away,” Clipp said. “Right now, I’m in a townhouse, where I actually have the entire basement to myself. And it’s only $400, so it’s not bad. I lucked out.”
Shelby went on to say that the reason some places can be very affordable is because they make rooms out of places that aren’t actually rooms, like the basement bedroom she has.
Student Collin Ertter rents a two-bedroom apartment with three roommates at Towson Woods Apartments, located across the street from The Shops at Kenilworth.
“We split rooms, but rent is no more than $500 a month [per person], including utilities, internet and TV,” he said. “I think the price I’m paying is a little too high.”
Student Jenna Cipolloni believes that while her rent is expensive, it is the best deal she could have made.
“I live in a two-bedroom apartment in Rodgers Forge with a roommate. We split the rent in half, which is about $800 for each of us,” Cipolloni said. “It’s a bit expensive, but it has a lot to offer.”
The report ranked Columbia, Annapolis, Ellicott City and Owings Mills as the four cities ahead of Towson in the cost of rent. The cities ranked the least expensive to rent were reported to be Brooklyn Park, Dundalk and Aberdeen.
The study also included Baltimore, but did not divide the city by neighborhood.
Parkville had the fastest growth in the cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment, with an increase of 15 percent. Parkville, Aberdeen and Brooklyn Park tied for the fastest growth in the cost of rent for a two-bedroom apartment, with an increase of 15 percent.
