Renters Face Fiercest Competition in Florida and the Northeast

As pandemic restrictions ease and remote work becomes a permanent fixture, Americans continue to seek homes in communities with more relaxed lifestyles — particularly in Florida and the Northeast, home to the country’s most competitive markets for renters, according to a new analysis of real estate data.

The analysis, released in June by RentCafe, a division of the real estate software firm Yardi Systems, showed that Miami-Dade County, home to more than 20 miles of beaches, was the most competitive area for renters during the first four months of 2022. Also among the Top 10: Harrisburg, Pa.; Orlando, Fla.; North and Central Jersey, Southwest Florida, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Rochester, N.Y., and Milwaukee.

The rental trend has been fueled in part by stubbornly high house prices and rising mortgage rates, which are pushing would-be buyers into an already overheated rental market, the report said. To determine the hottest markets so far this year, researchers considered five metrics: average vacant days, occupancy levels, prospective renters competing for listings, lease renewal rates, and the volume of new apartments built in the first four months of the year.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/realestate/rental-markets-competition.html