Zillow Names Hottest Rental Market for Summer 2026

(Providence, R.I., courtesy of Beth Fitzpatrick/pexels.com)

Zillow, Seattle, released a ranking of the hottest rental markets for summer 2026, finding that Providence, R.I., tops the list.

Zillow describes the most competitive markets as those where demand continues to exceed the number of available homes. Rents climb fast, vacancies are low and property managers tend not to offer any concessions.

“In Zillow’s hottest rental markets, the math is simple: More people want to live there than there are homes to rent–whether for access to amenities, strong job markets or family ties, renters are competing over a limited supply,” said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow. “The U.S. built more new units in 2024 than any year in the past half-century, but that boom largely bypassed the Northeast and coastal California, which is exactly why rental competition there is so intense. Markets that missed out on the list aren’t necessarily lacking demand; they just did a better job bringing new supply online.”

Rents in Providence are up 5% year-over-year and only 12.9% of property managers offer concessions. That’s the lowest share among the top 10 most competitive rental markets. The typical rent is $2,154 a month.

Next is New York, featuring 4.5% annual rent growth and consistently falling inventory. Manhattan specifically has seen 26 straight months of declining inventory.

And No. 3 is San Francisco, with 5.4% annual rent growth. Only 4.3% of units are forecasted to sit vacant over the next year, compared to 7.3% nationally.

Rounding out the top 10 are Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, Wis., Virginia Beach, Va., and San Jose, Calif.