Florida has taken the top spot as the most sought-after area for renters in 2022, according to new research from RentCafe.
RentCafe looked at the 100 largest U.S. markets and analyzed data such as the number of days a rental sat vacant, the percentage of occupied apartments, and how many renters competed for apartments.
South and Central Florida ranked highest, followed by mid-sized markets in the Northeast.
Miami-Date County is the hottest rental market in the country, with the highest demand for apartments thanks to a huge number of apartment hunters, low inventory, and record-high lease renewal rates.
Hot areas like Miami and Orlando are struggling to keep up with an influx of new renters even though they have built new units in the past few years.
The number of apartments in Miami-Dade County rose by 1.8% between January and April, the highest growth in new rentals among the top 20 cities RentCafe analyzed. But it was still not enough to keep up with demand, with 31 renters competing for one unit.
On the other end of the spectrum, areas that haven’t been building new apartments, such as Harrisburg, PA, are seeing huge competition for their limited number of apartments.
Soaring home price appreciation is forcing renters who would otherwise have bought a home to stay put, decreasing the amount of available inventory.
As inventory continues pushing up competition some renters who would have moved to apartments in other markets are also staying put rather than face the stress of finding somewhere new to live.
Vacant apartments were filled within an average of 35 days in the first part of 2022, with 14 renters typically competing for one apartment. More than 95% of rentals were occupied during the same time.
Newly built apartments accounted for only 0.7% of the total housing supply.