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The demand for apartment rentals was still sky-high in most parts of the country in the second quarter of the year, despite the slight downward trend in the first quarter.
RentPath, a network of apartment search websites that includes Rent.com and Apartment Guide, recently released its analysis of the apartment rental market based on the total number of leads delivered to its companies. The analysis found that on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, total leads delivered increased by 13.9 percent, with the most significant increase reported in the first month of the quarter.
April, May and June saw a respective 21 percent, 9 percent and 12 percent increase over the same months in 2014.
At the year’s midpoint, the number of leads generated through the RentPath network was 21.1 percent greater than during the same time last year. In fact, it was reported that each month so far this year has seen an uptick compared to the same month in 2014.
Both prices and demand for apartments is on the rise, and of course, some regions are faring better than others.
According to RentPath, the top three regions of lead growth included southeast Florida, Orlando and San Diego, with 30 percent, 23 percent and 19 percent growth, respectively.
Tampa, Detroit and Southern California rounded out the top five markets, with the latter two tying for final place.
RentPath’s lead map from July 2014.
Despite these regions coming in with the most leads, a different survey shows that renters are most satisfied in different regions. Orlando made it to the top 10 of the Apartment List Renter Confidence survey, which measured city satisfaction based on multiple metrics, such as the local economy, crime and safety, and how likely it is that renters will recommend living in the city to friends and family.
According to the Confidence Survey, which surveyed 18,675 renters in the nation, the top cities in the nation for renters were Plano, Texas, Boston and Arlington, Virginia.
The only city to appear in both RentPath’s and Apartment List’s top 10 was Orlando, which was one of 10 cities that received an A-plus score.
Some of the biggest cities to come in the top 10 were Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Austin. Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Torrance, California, represented smaller cities that are ideal for renters.
At the bottom of the list were Newark, New Jersey, and New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut. All three of these cities earned an “F” for city satisfaction, according to renters.
RentPath reported that June saw the largest number of raw leads in a single month in its history, and those trends are expected to continue in the same direction this July. This marks a strong and thriving rental market.
