After a year of bad news such as rising fees and fewer classes offered, Chico State University students deserved some good news. They got it when they returned to classes this month. Rental prices are going down.

After years of rising rental prices - sometimes at outlandish intervals - students who reported for the fall semester noticed an abundance of "For Rent" signs when they returned from the summer break. For most of them, it was too late. Most students lock in a one-year lease before they leave for the summer in May.

Those who came to town looking for housing were rolling the dice. Usually, most rentals for the next school year are full by June 1. Most years, somebody who comes to town in August looking for a place to live has to settle for a dump or sleeping on a friend's couch.

This year is different, thanks to a combination of factors. First, Chico State took great pains to keep its enrollment steady. The university normally plans for growth. This time around, university leaders watching the state budget crisis unfold wisely guessed the state university system would not provide funding for extra students, so it held enrollment steady.

At the same time, builders in Chico are catching up to the demand for apartments. Large housing developments are required to add a multi-family component, so apartments have been easier to find.

Finally, rising student fees may have kept some students away from Chico State, and may have convinced local families that living at home for a year or two while attending college isn't such a bad idea.

Chico State students were paying $2,114 in fees last year. Barring a mid-semester increase, they'll pay $2,796 this year. Books, gas and groceries are more expensive as well. So any little savings - even $25 a month in rent - is welcomed.

Some of the students are finding much better savings than just 25 bucks a month. One property manager said his vacancy rate is around 5 percent, far higher than his usual rates of 1 percent to 2 percent this time of year. The Enterprise-Record's classified ads Thursday showed a full page of listings of apartments for rent.

Consequently, according to one property manager, rents have dropped from $1,200 to $900 a month for a four-bedroom apartment in an attempt to get all of the units filled. Other complexes are offering one month of free rent as an incentive.

For students and others who are locked into leases, the drop in rental prices means nothing. But perhaps it's a sign that Chico's booming housing market is finally coming back to earth, and affordable housing may not seem like such a pipe dream.