RentCafe: Apartment Hunting Still Hot Through 2025

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RentCafe, Santa Barbara, Calif., released its year-end rental competitiveness report, finding that the U.S. rental market was more competitive in 2025 than 2024.

The firm’s rental competitive index gauges how hot the market is–it received a national score of 75.2 for this year, up from 74.4 in 2024.

The index is based on factors such as how long apartments are staying vacant, the share of rentals occupied, how many renters are competing for each unit, the percentage of renters who renewed their leases and the share of new apartments that came online.

Lease renewals rose to 63%, up from 62.2%. That drove the national occupancy rate to 93.3%. Nationwide, the number of apartments for rent grew by 2.83%, up from 2.59% in 2024.

By region, the Northeast saw the hottest region for renters, with a rental competitive index of 80.6, followed closely by the Midwest at 80.3. The lowest score is in the West, at 69.3.

Miami topped the list of most competitive markets, with a score of 92.9. That was followed by Chicago (88.2) and Suburban Chicago (88.1), Manhattan (84.5) and Milwaukee, Wis. (84.2).

For small metros, Fayetteville, Ark., was the hottest spot for apartment hunters, with a score of 92.4, followed by Lehigh Valley, Pa., (90.6), Harrisburg, Pa., (88.2), Lafayette, Ind. (87.8) and Palm Beach County, Fla. (87.7).

Looking toward 2026, RentCafe expects the market will stay fairly competitive, particularly in the summer.