As the school year is coming to an end, seniors are out looking for places to live. Whether they are looking for dorms in college or to just get out of their parent’s house, seniors want to find a place to call their own. The problem they face, however, is the Utah housing market. With demand much higher than supply, prices are skyrocketing for houses and apartments. In an article for KUER 90.1, Jon Reed reports, “More than half of Utah households were unable to afford the median-priced home in 2021, and nearly three-quarters of renters were already priced out in 2020.” This begs the question, how will graduating seniors afford a place to live?

Jordan Mcmillan, a senior planning to attend the U of U in the fall, is still struggling to find an apartment. “I haven’t yet found a place to live, but I do certainly plan on looking into housing a lot more in case I’m not contacted.” He is on a waitlist for housing on campus, but he may have to begin looking elsewhere. Mcmillan, however, is struggling to find somewhere else. “I plan to look at a few websites to look into availability, such as Utah Real Estate, given there isn’t much showcasing of affordable apartments,” Mcmillan said.

Searching for an affordable place to live has not been easy for him. “As of right now, I’m thinking it may take a few days or a couple of weeks to find some housing suitable for me,” he lamented. Sadly, he is not the only one struggling with this issue. For instance, in connection with the housing crisis, BYU has changed their housing policy. After the first two semesters at school, students are no longer required to live in on-campus or off-campus BYU contracted housing. They can decide where to live, if other options are available. Other schools don’t have as much housing as BYU offers, resulting in students having to find a place to live off campus. 

I personally had to search through many apartments before finding a place near UVU campus where I plan to go to school. Many had high prices and not great reviews, so finding a place to live that would be comfortable and affordable was difficult. It took a few weeks to find apartments that had good feedback from students living there. It was still more expensive than what my older siblings had paid, $80-$90 more in just the last few years. I had not anticipated just how difficult it would be to find a good place to live after high school, just like many other seniors. 

Seniors are entering the outside world and suddenly have to deal with all the problems that come with it. Supply is struggling to keep up with demand, resulting in shortages and high prices. Utah is having a housing crisis, and Bingham students are beginning to experience it.