These 2 Boroughs Earned Top 10 Status On The Hardest Renters’ List
We New York City dwellers will likely be complaining about the city’s rental market until, well, the end of time–but when NYC rent is 164% above average for the U.S., NYC rents are rising 7x faster than wages, less than 5% of NYC rents are affordable for those making the city’s average salary, and even NYC stabilized tenants keep facing rent increases, can you blame us?! And things aren’t getting any better.
A recent report released by RentCafe found that this past summer’s rental market reached its boiling point, and so they’re lending a helping hand. In an effort to help Americans looking for a new place to call home find out what other options are out there, RentCafe went on a mission to find the most competitive rental markets. They looked at five relevant metrics in terms of rental competitiveness:
- The number of days apartments were vacant
- The % of apartments that were occupied by renters
- The number of prospective renters competing for an apartment
- The % of renters who renewed their leases
- The share of new apartments completed recently
With this data RentCafe was able to measure the U.S. rental market’s competitiveness–calculating a Rental Competitiveness Index (RCI)–during peak moving season. Currently, the national RCI score is 75.8, meaning the apartment market in the U.S. is very competitive during peak rental season.
As for the nation’s hottest rental markets during the peak season, two NYC boroughs made it to the top ten–Manhattan at #9 and Brooklyn at #10. Moreover, both earned RCI scores higher than the national score, coming in at 82.2 and 82.0, respectively.
NYC boroughs have become significantly more competitive this summer than last. The report writes:
Fueled by New York City’s economy, Queens, NY, has become increasingly hot, as well, mainly due to its close proximity to Manhattan and more affordable apartments. To that point, Queens’ RCI score increased by 12.8 points year-over-year to reach 71.5 in peak rental season. Similarly, Brooklyn, NY, saw a significant 10.3-point increase to bring its RCI score to a whopping 82 this busy summer.
NYC’s diverse economy is mainly what’s fueling apartment competition–Manhattan is the ninth-hottest rental market in the U.S. and fourth in the region, though the borough has seen almost zero new apartments in recent months. Moreover, vacant Manhattan apartments are typically snatched up in only 37 days, with each available unit attracting an average of nine applicants looking to apply.
And renters turning to Brooklyn instead aren’t having any easier of a time–Brooklyn is the fifth-hottest rental market in the Northeast with only a 0.75% increase in housing supply. The borough has seen a 3.3% increase in renewal rates year-over-year, meaning less than 4% of apartments are available on the market. Compared to Manhattan vacant apartments in Brooklyn take three days longer to fill, so you do have some extra wiggle room, but available units each receive an average of 14 applicants, more than in Manhattan and up from nine compared to last summer.
As for the most competitive rental market, that title went to our friends over in Suburban Chicago, IL, and our friends in Miami, FL came in second. The full top ten is as follows:
1. Suburban Chicago, IL
2. Miami-Dade County, FL
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. Bridgeport – New Haven, CT
5. Chicago, IL
6. North Jersey, NJ
7. Omaha, NE
8. Suburban Philadelphia, PA
9. Manhattan, NY
10. Brooklyn, NY
The full report can be found here.
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