Property Management in Bloomsburg, PA
We have been cool on student housing in Bloomsburg from the day we got here in 2021. We had just spent 2017 through 2019 in Lock Haven repositioning a pile of properties that used to work beautifully as student rentals into regular housing, because the students stopped coming. That was hard, expensive, unglamorous work, and we were not eager to sign up for it a second time at the next State System of Higher Education campus down the road.
Bloomsburg has been the same story with a different timeline. Like Lock Haven, this was historically a student town, built around Bloomsburg University. In 2022 it became the main campus of the new Commonwealth University, which blended Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield into one institution. Being the main campus is better than the alternative. Just ask Mansfield and Lock Haven! But the merger happened for a reason, and that reason was falling enrollment across all three.
Then Bloomsburg made the same move Lock Haven made in 2017. Starting with the class of 2025, the university began requiring both freshmen and sophomores to live on campus. That takes roughly one third of the eligible off campus students and keeps them on campus. It is good for the university, which was not filling its on campus housing. It is a direct hit to off campus landlords.
We have already watched it play out. A number of longtime investors here sold off properties rather than adapt to the new reality, which tells you something about how much work adapting actually takes. If you are eyeing a Bloomsburg property because of how it has historically performed as student housing, understand that your performance will be different.
We do think Bloomsburg’s transition will look different from Lock Haven’s, given how the university system is reorganizing and where Bloomsburg sits in it as the main campus. Our honest read is that this market is still in flux, and if the university holds enrollment steady it takes a few years to settle. If you are looking at a property here and the numbers only work with students in it, we would rather tell you now that we are uncertain about the stability of enrollment.
Bloomsburg also has a historic district, and like several of our river towns it comes with a Historic and Architectural Review Board that has authority over exterior changes to property inside it. If your property is in the district, expect your permit applications for exterior work to be reviewed by both the codes office and the HARB. That adds time to the process and it limits your options for what you can do with the property. It can be frustrating for investors, but with some planning it is easy enough to work around.
Bloomsburg has far larger multifamily properties than our other markets. There are actual apartment complexes here, new construction, amenities, and they are market rate. In Bloomsburg and Lock Haven that barely exists, and most of the apartment complexes in those towns are subsidized housing. So, if you want to buy multifamily at scale in this region, Bloomsburg is where the inventory is.
The rules in Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg has the most detailed rental code in our market, and it splits into two tracks. Which track you are on depends on who lives on your property.
Student housing. This covers “regulated rental units,” meaning any unit occupied by two or more unrelated people, students or not. The license runs for one year, from September 15 through September 14. Every year. There are occupancy limits based on square footage, and the owner carries responsibility for occupant conduct. If you do not live within local calling distance of the Town, you must designate a manager who does, and that manager acts as your agent for service of process.
Non student housing. This covers apartment houses of three or more units and rental homes of one or two units with non-owner occupants. A regular license runs three years with a required renewal inspection. The person responsible for maintaining the property must live within 10 miles of it. That is the tightest local radius of any town we work in. Danville’s is 20 miles, Lewisburg’s is 30.
Inspections come from the Town’s Code Enforcement Officers. One piece of advice specific to Bloomsburg. Be there for the inspection. We have seen inspection reports here drift into wish list territory, and the simplest fix is to walk the property alongside the inspector and get clear on what is actually expected before anyone goes through the home.
What rent looks like in Bloomsburg
These are the ranges we actually see on Class A and Class B properties in Bloomsburg. Rents will vary based on features, location and utilities.
- 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment: $650 to $800
- 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment: $800 to $950
- 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath single family house: $1,200 to $1,500
What about flood risk in Bloomsburg?
Bloomsburg is the one where you really cannot generalize. Portions of the town are protected by levees. Portions are not.
Pull up the FEMA flood maps for the specific property you are considering, find out whether it is in the 100 year or 500-year zone, and get your insurance agent to price it before you commit to anything. Do not assume anything when it comes to flood zones.
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