UMich apartments on Packard Street: what students are actually paying

Searching for UMich apartments on Packard Street usually starts with one question: what are people actually paying? Packard Street runs southeast from the edge of downtown Ann Arbor. This guide puts the live Packard listings on our site in front of you with their asking prices, shows what students in local housing groups were quoting, and is clear about where those two sets of numbers differ. To browse every current option in the area, head to our Ann Arbor off-campus housing listings page.

Begin your search at Off-Campus Universe, where you can browse current listings near Ann Arbor.

Here are three live listings with Packard St addresses, plus one nearby comparison. 523 Packard St at $1,300/month is a furnished one-bedroom, one-bath Sub Lease with a lease timing of January-May 2026. 825 Packard St at $900/month is also a furnished one-bedroom, one-bath Sub Lease, with its timing listed as January to May 2026. 430 Packard St, Unit 1 at $1,025/month is a furnished four-bedroom, one-bath Sub Lease with a timing of May 6 to August 20. For comparison, 205 South State Street at $1,393/month is a furnished three-bedroom, one-bath Sub Lease with a timing of January to August 2026. All four list a distance by car of under 5 minutes. Several of these timings are from earlier this year, so message the lister to ask what is open now and for which months.

Packard Street and Ann Arbor: The Rent Picture

Two sets of numbers are worth looking at, and they should not be mixed. The first is the asking prices on live listings, like the ones above. Those are what a specific lister is asking for a specific place, and they are the numbers you will actually be negotiating with. The second is what students were quoting in local housing group posts.

On that second set, across the 37 student posts we analyzed in this group for October 5-12, 2026, the median rent people quoted was $1,220 per person. That figure comes from student posts in that group, not from Off-Campus Universe listings, and it is not specific to Packard Street. We do not have a Packard-only figure from those posts, so we are not going to pretend we do.

What the posts do show is what students were looking for. Sublease or lease takeover posts made up 76% of the group that week, about 29 points above the usual level. Term-specific posts, meaning spring, fall or a single semester, came up in 43%. Pool or gym, in-unit laundry and furnished each came up in 41%, and walk-to-campus in 30%. The floor plans students named most often were four-bedroom and two-bedroom layouts, followed by five-bedroom ones.

Treat the student median as a rough reference point, not a benchmark for any particular listing. It can mix many different kinds of places, room sizes and lease terms, and it reflects what people chose to post in one week.

Since so many of those posts were subleases and lease takeovers, it is worth getting comfortable with how they work. A sublease or takeover is not a bad thing, but it does mean checking that the landlord approves the arrangement, that the dates are clear and that you know exactly who you are paying each month.

UMich Apartments on Packard Street: What to Compare

When you compare UMich apartments on Packard Street, the most useful thing to look at is not the headline price on its own but what that price buys you. The Packard listings above range from $900/month to $1,300/month, and all three are posted as subleases, so the months you would be covering matter as much as the monthly figure. A sublease that runs January to May is a very different commitment from one that runs May to August.

Bedroom and bathroom counts matter too. A one-bedroom, one-bath place gives you your own space, while a four-bedroom, one-bath place means one bathroom for four bedrooms. Ask whether the listed price is for one bedroom or for the whole unit; on a multi-bedroom listing that question alone can change the picture completely.

Finally, think about the extras students were asking about. If in-unit laundry, furnishing or a gym matter to you, ask the lister directly rather than assuming. All of the Packard listings above are marked furnished, but ask what that includes, and ask which utilities, if any, are part of the monthly amount.

It also helps to write down the total cost of each option for the months you would actually be there. Multiply the monthly amount by the number of months, add any deposit or fees, and add utilities if they are extra. Two subleases with similar monthly prices can end up far apart once you count the months and the extras.

If none of the Packard listings fits your dates, widen the search. The Ann Arbor listings page shows every current option, and you can use the distance by car on each listing to compare places on other streets with the ones on Packard. When you message a lister, include the months you need, how many people are looking and your questions about price and utilities, so you can compare replies quickly and decide with all the details in front of you.

Tips for Subleasing on Packard Street

• Confirm the exact months. Ask for the start and end dates in writing and check that they match the months you need, including move-in and move-out days.

• Find out how the sublease is structured. Ask whether the landlord must approve it, whether there is a fee, and whether you pay the current tenant or the landlord directly. Get the approval in writing.

• Ask what the monthly price covers. Find out whether it is per bedroom or for the whole unit, which utilities are included, and whether furniture, laundry or parking come with it.

• Protect your money. Tour in person or on a live video call, read the full agreement before you pay, and use a payment method that leaves a record.

Ready to find your place? Browse all listings at Off-Campus Universe.

This article is provided by an independent housing resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Michigan.