The Midwest has emerged as the most competitive region for apartment hunters this year, many of whom are exploring new housing options as high home prices and overall living costs remain challenging. Half of the top 20 rental metros and six of the best small rental markets are located in the Midwest, with the suburbs of Chicago challenging Miami’s position as the country's most competitive rental region, according to RentCafe’s latest analysis.
The marketplace determines the most competitive regions by analyzing metrics such as days of apartment vacancy, occupancy percentage, number of prospective renters and share of new units recently completed. Overall, RentCafe found that the country is experiencing a very competitive rental market for tenants this year.
Although the number of available apartments has increased by 0.75% compared with 0.67% growth last year, there are still not enough units to meet demand, the company said. Limited supply has driven lease renewal rates to 63.1% from 61.5% last year. National occupancy remains high at 93.3%, and the average time to rent a vacant building is 43 days.
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