Top 10 Most Competitive Rental Markets
Some of the top seller’s markets are also seeing the most renter competition. According to a recent report from real estate marketing platform Zillow, many Northeastern metros are seeing heavy competition from renters while less competitive buyer’s markets that have seen more construction activity are seeing less renter competition.
Many markets in the Northeast and California coast, ranked in the top 10 most competitive, including:
- Providence
- New York City
- San Francisco
- Hartford, Conn.
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Boston
- Milwaukee
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- San Jose, Calif.
What do these markets have in common?
In the most competitive markets, rents have seen substantial growth in the last year. In Providence, rents are up 5% year-over-year, and with just 12.9% of property managers offering concessions—the lowest share in the top 10—renters have little room to negotiate. The typical rent in Providence is $2,154, meaning that renters need to earn an annual income of $86,000 to afford their rent.
Likewise, in New York City, annual rent growth reached 4.5%, and the typical asking rent is $3,406 per month. In San Francisco, rents grew by 5.4% year-over-year, and only 4.3% of units are forecasted to sit vacant over the next year compared with 7.3% nationally.