While the housing market has been seeing many positive shifts as of late—pointing to a potentially larger boom in activity to come—renting remains a strongly popular option in the housing market. Rental markets across the country, however, are starting to see many shifts in line with purchase markets.
A new report from RentCafe takes a look at rental activity across the 150 largest U.S. cities—ranking them by availability rate, page views, favorites and saved searches—to help give a picture of rental activity and what markets remain popular.
Here are the Top 10 cities for rental activity in September, according to RentCafe:
1. Detroit, Michigan
The city saw page views grow 16% year-over-year while listings fell 38%, reflecting a significant growth in rental interest.
2. Washington, D.C.
Listings in the nation’s capital have fallen 6%, likely showing that more renters are coming into the market and snatching up available units.
3. Minneapolis, Minnesota
While previously higher on the list, the city has seen a slowdown in activity as page views have fallen 18% year-over-year. However, listings fell by 14%, demonstrating that the city does continue to draw in new renters.
4. Atlanta, Georgia
Similar to Minneapolis, the city saw a dip in online activity but continues to draw renters as listings have deceased.
5. Cleveland, Ohio
Maintaining its position, the city saw a 7% drop in listings and moderate online activity, showing that the rental market is still competitive.
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philly saw a definite increase in interest compared to previous months. Page views rose by 10%, while listings fell by 2%.
7. Fayetteville, North Carolina
This is a 10-position jump for the city, as the rental market has begun to boom—listings fell 7% and online activity is strong.
8. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
While the city saw a decline in online activity, the market is still highly competitive as listings fell by a whopping 43% year-over-year.
9. Chicago, Illinois
Seeing a two-spot drop from last month, the city only saw a slight dip in rental interest, as listings still decreased by 10%.
10. Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati saw a 5% growth in apartment availability, and continues to attract online attention.
Looking regionally, the South turned out to be the most popular rental market in September, with 11 cities in the top 30 of the list. The West comes in second with nine cities, while the Midwest follows right behind with eight spots. Meanwhile, the Northeast came in last with just two cities (up from just one last month).
For the full report, click here.
