High home prices and mortgage rates have left a lot of Americans leaning toward renting over buying as their main housing option. With renting now the majority, which markets saw the most activity in 2023?

RentCafe’s latest report analyzed the 139 largest markets where data was available and ranked them based on five key metrics when it comes to rental competitiveness: the number of days apartments stayed vacant, percentage of occupied rentals, number of prospective renters competing, percentage of renters who renewed, and the share of apartments completed.

Overall, the report found that the typical American renter had limited options to choose from in 2023. With 94% of rentals already occupied and the majority of apartment dwellers choosing to renew their leases (60.2%), each vacant unit had 9 renters competing for it, and apartments stayed empty for 38 days before welcoming new tenants. In addition, the nation’s supply of apartments saw a solid growth, increasing by almost 1.89% since January.   

The top 10 hottest rental market of 2023:

1. Miami-Dade County, Florida
Average vacant days: 31
Occupied apartments: 96.9%
Prospective renters: 22
Lease renewal rate: 71.2%
New apartments: 3.7%

2. North Jersey, New Jersey
Average vacant days: 34
Occupied apartments: 96.3%
Prospective renters: 14
Lease renewal rate: 70.5%
New apartments: 2%

3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Average vacant days: 33
Occupied apartments: 95.8%
Prospective renters: 14
Lease renewal rate: 69.6%
New apartments: 2.9%

4. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Average vacant days: 34c
Occupied apartments: 95.5%
Prospective renters: 10
Lease renewal rate: 69.9%
New apartments: 1%

5. Suburban Chicago, Illinois
Average vacant days: 35
Occupied apartments: 95.3%
Prospective renters: 14
Lease renewal rate: 66.7%
New apartments: 1.6%

6. Omaha, Nebraska
Average vacant days: 28
Occupied apartments: 96%
Prospective renters: 13
Lease renewal rate: 63.9%
New apartments: 2.7%

7. Broward County, Florida
Average vacant days: 37
Occupied apartments: 95.3%
Prospective renters: 13
Lease renewal rate: 66.4%
New apartments: 1.4%

8. Suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Average vacant days: 41
Occupied apartments: 94.7%
Prospective renters: 11
Lease renewal rate: 75.4%
New apartments: 0.9%

9. Brooklyn, New York
Average vacant days: 38
Occupied apartments: 96.1%
Prospective renters: 9
Lease renewal rate: 64.6%
New apartments: 0.9%

10. Central Jersey, New Jersey
Average vacant days: 46
Occupied apartments: 95.9%
Prospective renters: 9
Lease renewal rate: 82.5%
New apartments: 1.7%

For the full report, click here.

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