Michigan has no rent price control laws and are driven by the competitive free market. As developers increase the price of rent, other developers in the area need to adjust their prices to compete.

Without price control laws, the average price of rent will continue to rise.

Emery said he was shocked to see students lining up outside of The Abbot apartment complex last week hoping to sign a lease. The asking price for units in the complex range from $1,700 to $3,000 per month.

“It’s a forced decision at this point because they can’t find a place,” Emery said. “All the places that are $800 a month already filled up, so they have to choose the $1,700 a month place.”

East Lansing residents struggle when it comes to affordable housing, Emery said. A recent MSU graduate, Emery lived off-campus in Lansing throughout college.

“Affordable housing choices are pretty slim,” Emery said. “Group housing is probably your number one best option.”

Management senior Reide Marowelli purchased a house in Lansing with two other roommates after he was unable to find a viable option in East Lansing. They plan to sell the house after graduation.

“I think I’ll break even on what I’m spending,” Marowelli said. “I would recommend it to other Michigan State students who can afford the upfront costs.”

When Marowelli signed up to live on-campus as a sophomore two years ago, he was turned away about a month before move-in. The university had overfilled the dorms with incoming freshmen.

“Everybody tries to get their living situations done by Nov., so I was in a pretty rough spot trying to find anything at that point,” Marowelli said.

Three miles away from campus, Marowelli’s commute takes about seven minutes by car. 

For a person living in Lansing with a medium-sized sedan, it would cost about $550 per month to commute to campus. But Marowelli said parking is the biggest drawback for commuting. The commuter lot is miles away from his classes and with two 9-hour days on campus per week, parking rates get too high.

“Parking on campus for commuters really sucks,” Marowelli said. “I would rather just risk the ticket than try to park two miles away.”

While it may be financially beneficial to live in Lansing over East Lansing, Marowelli said he sometimes feels excluded from East Lansing's downtown buzz of activities. 

“The reason why East Lansing is so expensive is because it’s a valuable place to live if you’re a student,” Emery said. “You’re close to campus; you’ve got all these amenities, and you’re surrounded by other students. Lansing doesn't really have that.”

Emery is a current resident of the Phoenix cooperative housing unit. Located behind Valley Park and just blocks from downtown East Lansing, this option helped him foster a sense of community he missed during college as an off-campus student, Emery said.

“For me, it was worth it,” Emery said. “I didn’t have all the resources in the world to have someone pay $1,200 a month for me.”