The Rental Markets Kicking Off 2024 Hot

Though the housing market is correcting as of late, the rental market is still a strong contender for those seeking housing as home prices and mortgage rates remain on the higher side. 

While the rental market stays a strong housing contender, what markets are the ones feeling the most benefits from this trend in 2024?

RentCafe’s Rental Competitivity Report ranked the nation’s most competitive rental markets by analyzing the following metrics: the number of days vacant, percentage of occupied apartments, number of prospective renters, percentage of renters who renewed their leases, and the share of new apartments completed. With this data RentCafe calculated a Rental Competitivity Index (RCI) for the largest and smallest markets.

With the rental market more relaxed at the start of 2024 than it was last year, as the report states, a lot of the markets on the list are repeats of last year’s rankings, with a few shifts here and there. While the Sunbelt maintains its appeal, the report found that the Midwest gained more traction in 2024.

The top 10 hottest rental markets of 2024:

1. Miami-Dade, Florida (91.9 RCI)

Average vacant days: 36

Occupied Apartments: 96.5%

Prospective renters: 14

Lease renewal rate: 73.4%

Share of new units: 0.97%

2. Milwaukee, Wisconsin (87)

Average vacant days: 37

Occupied apartments: 95.1%

Prospective renters: 9

Lease renewal rate: 72.3%

Share of new units: 0.53%

3. North Jersey, New Jersey (85.4)

Average vacant days: 38

Occupied apartments: 95.8%

Prospective renters: 9

Lease renewal rate: 73.1%

Share of new units: 0.51%

4. Suburban Chicago, Illinois (85.3)

Average vacant days: 37

Occupied apartments: 95%

Prospective renters: 10

Lease renewal rate: 68.2%

Share of new units: 0.51%

5. Grand Rapids, Michigan (84.5)

Average vacant days: 39

Occupied apartments: 95.1%

Prospective renters: 6

Lease renewal rate: 76.6%

Share of new units: 0.27%

6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (82.8)

Average vacant days: 35

Occupied apartments: 93.1%

Prospective renters: 6

Lease renewal rate: 62.6%

Share of new units: 0%

7. Bridgeport – New Haven, Connecticut (82.7)

Average vacant days: 39

Occupied apartments: 95.4%

Prospective renters: 9

Lease renewal rate: 62.5%

Share of new units: 0%

8. Cincinnati, Ohio (82.4)

Average vacant days: 38

Occupied apartments: 94.7%

Prospective renters: 9

Lease renewal rate: 65.9%

Share of new units: 0.61%

9. Lansing – Ann Arbor, Michigan (82.3)

Average vacant days: 38

Occupied apartments: 94.4%

Prospective renters: 6

Lease renewal rate: 68.6%

Share of new units: 0%

10. Orlando, Florida (81.4)

Average vacant days: 39

Occupied apartments: 94.4%

Prospective renters: 8

Lease renewal rate: 68.5%

Share of new units: 0.64%

For the full report, click here.