RentCafe: 2024 Competitive for Renters; Miami Hottest Market

(Image courtesy of RentCafe)

RentCafe, Santa Barbara, Calif., released a report on 2024 year-end trends, finding a competitive rental market nationwide and top spots of interest in Miami and Chicagoland.

Overall, the national Rental Competitiveness Index stands at 74.4, indicating that American renters saw a highly competitive rental market in 2024.

However, the surge in newly constructed apartments has started to affect the rental market, with 32% of 139 analyzed markets deemed more relaxed compared with 2023.

The percentage of all apartments occupied from 2023 to 2024 was close to flat, at 94% and 93.6% respectively. In 2024, 62.2% of renters renewed their leases, compared with 60.2% in 2023. And, on average the number of days rentals were vacant was 40 in 2024, compared with 38 in 2023.

RentCafe projects that 2025 will be slightly less competitive than 2024, as the influx of new apartments persists.

Miami was the hottest market for rentals, but many markets in the Midwest are deeply competitive as well.

Rounding out the top 10 large rental markets were Suburban Chicago, Milwaukee, Wis., Bridgeport-New Haven, Conn., Grand Rapids, Mich., North Jersey, N.J., Chicago, Suburban Philadelphia, Omaha, Neb., and Silicon Valley, Calif.

Small rental markets put up a good showing for the Northeast, with nine spots in the top 30 areas.  

The top 10 small rental markets were Lehigh Valley, Pa., Fayetteville, Ark., Little Rock, Ark., Providence, R.I., Lafayette, Ind., Madison, Wis., Harrisburg, Pa., Worcester-Springfield, Mass., Youngstown, Ohio and Palm Beach County, Fla.