A new report showed the Orlando rental market is one of the most competitive in the nation.
According to data from RentCafé, a national apartments listing service, for every vacant apartment in Orlando, there are at least 12 people competing for it during peak season.
Housing experts and economists have said this is why rents in the Orlando area are some of the highest they’ve ever been. The lack of rental supply does not meet the high demand for living spaces in a city that gets hundreds of new residents every week.
“We have found that we have under supplied housing in our country and in our state, especially affordable housing, so we have a market breakdown. We have excess demand, but supply is not forthcoming,” Economist Hank Fishkind said.
Orlando ranked in the Top 10 most competitive rental markets, with a reported supply increase of just 0.77%, not nearly enough to catch up with demand. About 95% of existing Orlando apartments are taken.
“As a result, apartment-seekers here have less than 5% of available apartments to choose from, especially as 65.3% of renters chose to renew their leases in peak rental season,” the report stated.
The data also showed the average apartment in Orlando stays vacant for just about 32 days before it gets rented out.
In such a competitive market, hopeful renters might want to ensure the affairs that can quickly qualify them for an apartment are in order, such as having enough money for deposits and fees, thoroughly completing the application process, and having references or any necessary documentation readily available.
However, the report paled in comparison to last year’s. Against the 2022 report during peak market season, this year showed a bit of a cool down.
“(sic) It’s worth noting that more than half (or 54%) of the 139 U.S. markets analyzed have cooled in terms of competitivity across all five relevant metrics compared to this time last year,” the report stated.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
