The early bird gets the worm — or in this case, the cheaper rent.

Students in the midst of searching for an apartment next year might not be aware of possible price differences when signing leases with the realty company.

According to a study conducted by Abdullah Yavas, a William Elliot Endowed Fellow and professor of business administration for the Smeal College of Business, landlords charge different rates for identical apartment units, based on their expectations about demand in the market. The phenomenon is known as rent dispersion.

"Keeping quality the same, students want to live in the cheaper apartment. Less expensive units will rent faster or first (than those with higher rent)," Yavas said. "If your rent is higher than others, you risk renting it late or not at all."

The expectation would be that the rents are lower now. Landlords like to have the commitment now to ensure they are not vacant, Yavas said.

Mike Lenner (senior-photography) lives at a Vairo Boulevard apartment complex and said he and his roommates experienced rent dispersion while sharing a three-person apartment.

Lenner and one of his roommates signed a lease at the apartment complex shortly after the housing fair last spring. Approximately a month later, a third roommate signed a lease to occupy the same apartment with them, at a signing rate of almost $100 more, Lenner said.

"I don't think it's right that roommates living in the same occupancy have to pay different rates, depending only on the time they signed the lease," Lenner said. "It's all individual leases, but we're still living in the exact same apartment."

According to Yavas's study, rents might slowly increase throughout the course of the year depending on the demand and how many apartments the landlords have rented out so far.

Renters might see a drastic drop in rates for an apartment if a company finds it has a surplus of empty units still available late in the year, Yavas said.

For students living off campus, it is not uncommon to run into rent dispersion, even with roommates living in the same apartment, Yavas said. Other students have similar problems, especially when a realtor changes policies from one year to the next.

Marcus O'Leary (junior-theater) said at another Vairo Boulevard apartment complex where he lives, the realtors offered the lowest possible rent to tenants renewing their leases as an incentive to encourage them to stay for another year. Those with renewed leases were then paying less than other roommates who might have signed a first-time lease with them, he added.

O'Leary said he pays almost $100 more for rent than his roommates, who all had second-year leases. The policy will change next year, O'Leary said, and now renewing tenants who had before planned on a lower price for next year, are finding out that their rent will go up a considerable amount.

"For me it's saving money, but a lot of people I know were expecting to pay lower rents (if they renewed their lease)," O'Leary said. "I think it's rough for them, because it's going to be a lot more than they're paying now."