Fall House Hunt

Boston ranks among the most competitive rental markets in the U.S.

On average, 14 prospective renters are looking at the same apartment in Greater Boston, according to a new report.

Real estate houses and a red arrow down to show a drop in home sales in this housing market.
. Adobe Stock

By Caroline Bunnell

1 minute to read

For renters looking to find their next apartment, they may find that over a dozen other prospective tenants are trying to do the same thing. 

RentCafe recently released a study about the most competitive markets in the United States. For consecutive years, Miami reigned supreme as the country’s most competitive market.  

Each market was given an overall rating based on five metrics, and their average between April and June of 2023. 

The five categories considered in the overall market competitive score are:

  1. Apartment occupancy rate
  2. Average total days vacant
  3. Prospective renters per vacant unit
  4. Renewal lease rate
  5. Share of new apartments

According to RentCafe’s findings, the national market was less competitive in 2023 versus 2022. On average, there were 15 renters per vacant unit in 2022, compared to 10 in 2023. 

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The Greater Boston area was found to be the 14th most competitive market in the U.S. in 2023. On average, a rental in Boston will be vacant for 35 days. 

Even if competition has decreased within the past year, there continues to be an issue of lack of inventory. More than 95% of apartments in the Greater Boston area are occupied, RentCafe estimates. 

Once an apartment is vacant, there is an average of 14 prospective renters looking at the same apartment. Many renters choose to renew their leases to eliminate the difficulty of competing over the same properties. RentCafe’s data shows that Boston has a lease renewal rate of 59.2%. 

To formulate this data, RentCafe analyzed information across 139 markets in the United States. Multifamily properties that housed at least 50 units were included in the study, while fully affordable multifamily properties were not included. 

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