Apartment hunting in Florida has never been easy, especially in recent years. But according to recent findings, the state has actually become a more favorable place overall for prospective renters.
According to RentCafe.com’s recent Rental Competitiveness Report, Miami has been dethroned as the most competitive place to rent in the country, now coming second to Chicago.
It seems that those who fought for their units in Miami aren’t sure if the Magic City is for them, with 70% choosing to renew–down almost 2% from last year.
On average, sixteen renters compete for each vacant unit, a drop by 3 from last summer. Apartments are steadily and emptily waiting approximately 36 days for a lease.
Miami’s Rental Competitive Index score fell from 92.2 to 89.8, breaking its multi-year streak of being the nation’s most competitive rental market.
Outside of Miami, other major Florida cities have also seen drops in renter interest.
Orlando, for example, saw the nation’s biggest drop in competitiveness. About 7 out of 10 of their renters renewed their leases, and apartments make up 0.78% of the city’s total stock (in comparison to the nation’s 0.5%). Tampa’s new apartments make up 0.88% of their total stock.
Apartments in Orlando take 42 days to lease–6 days longer than last summer–and are only coveted by about 9 prospective renters at a time. In Tampa, only 9 renters are competing for each unit, and apartments take 43 days to lease.
But not the entire Sunshine State has slowed down. In Jacksonville, the search has actually gotten tougher.
New apartments make up only 0.24% of the stock, and 65% of their renters have renewed, so options are slim for apartment hunters.
As space opens up in the state overall, Florida begins to be an option for prospective renters again. Now the question is: will another city take over as the most competitive?
For the full report, click here.