S. Florida renters like where they live

Housing costs are high, pay is low, good jobs are scarce and public transportation is meh, but South Florida renters by and large are satisfied with their communities and feel safe from crime.

That’s the takeaway from the latest Renter Confidence Survey recently released by ApartmentList.com, a rental property search site.

“I love the atmosphere,” a Hollywood renter from Miami declared in a comment collected with the survey.

“My city is awesome!” said a renter from Miami.

The website surveyed 45,000 renters in more than 160 U.S. communities and asked them to rate theirs in 11 lifestyle categories, plus give their overall satisfaction level on a scale from 1 to 10. Researchers then converted those scores into letter grades and posted each community’s report card on the website.

In South Florida, 605 renters participated in the survey, according to information provided by the website.

In “Overall Satisfaction,” Fort Lauderdale got a B-, Hollywood a B+, Pompano Beach an A-, West Palm Beach a B, Miami a C+, and Boca Raton earned an A.

“I love Boca,” one respondent said.

“Love the weather. Hate the cost of living,” a renter said about Fort Lauderdale.

Said a Miami renter: “I HATE how overpriced my city is but I love how beautiful it is and how much the city is improving.”

Because the survey was restricted to renters, the median age of respondents skewed younger than if homeowners were included, said Sydney Bennet, senior research associate for ApartmentList.com. The median birth year was 1984 for U.S. respondents overall and 1981 for Florida respondents.

That makes the survey’s findings potentially valuable to land developers and policymakers who are trying to plan for future renters, she said.

“I think renters can provide a good indication of how a population is going to change in a city. Homeowners are a more settled bunch,” Bennet said in a telephone interview. “If a bunch of renters are unhappy with affordability of housing, they’re more likely to leave for somewhere else with more job opportunities.”

Bennet said the website regularly surveys renters on various topics to ensure their voices are included in public discourse.

Nearly four decades after a wave of violence and drug crime tarnished South Florida’s reputation, renters gave the six communities high marks for “Safety and Crime Rate,” with Boca Raton earning an A+ and Hollywood, Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale each getting an A-. Miami and West Palm Beach each got a B-.

Said one resident of Hollywood, “I love that you can walk to restaurants, schools and retail stores. Great place to exercise and there is a police station in the community to keep us safe!”

Affordability, predictably, attracted some of the weakest scores among all the categories, earning a C+ for Fort Lauderdale, D for Miami, B- for Hollywood, C for Pompano Beach, B- for West Palm Beach and D for Boca Raton.

Surveys were sent to verified South Florida renters, and results were mapped to the six South Florida communities identified as primary cities for respondents’ zip codes. That means respondents identified as living in Fort Lauderdale could have been living in that city or cities directly west, including Davie and Plantation. Boca Raton encompasses all of the West Boca communities in unincorporated Palm Beach County. Hollywood also means Miramar and Pembroke Pines, and so on.

Some comments in the report for Pompano Beach, which scored an A- for “Safety and Crime Rate,” were actually about Coral Springs.

“Coral Springs is so young in its life that it still has that new feel and cleanliness to it,” a commenter said.

Nationally, renters gave the highest satisfaction scores to Scottsdale, Ariz.; Plano, Texas; Huntington Beach, Calif.; and Cambridge, Mass.

Lowest-scoring cities were Newark, N.J.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Springfield, Mass.

Eleven other Florida cities were ranked, with most getting Bs. Altamonte Springs was the only city besides Boca Raton and Pompano Beach with a grade higher than B. Besides Miami, three other Florida cities were graded lower than B: Orlando, C-, Daytona Beach, D, and Tallahassee, F.

Taken as a whole, the survey results suggest that renters in South Florida are happier today than renters were in the past, said Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University. A big reason is millennials are less likely than previous generations to equate happiness with homeownership, he said.

“Ownership at times can be an anchor,” he said. “Upwardly mobile young folk on average are happier with more amenities and things to do because they are avoiding ownership.”

Renting makes it easier for young people who want to move up the career ladder to relocate within the region or to other metro areas, he said.

The renters gave their communities mediocre grades for “Jobs and Career Opportunities.” Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach all received Cs, while Miami got a D and Boca Raton got an A-.

“No jobs and cost of living is too expensive for what they have to offer,” a Fort Lauderdale renter said, while a Miami resident advised, “Just find yourself a good paying job and you’ll be good to go.”

Some of the survey results reveal more about common challenges facing renters than about specific strengths or weaknesses of a community, Bennet said.

Three Bs, two Cs and an F for “Pet-friendliness” more likely reflect frustration with landlords’ pet policies and amenities than whether a community has ample dog parks and walking paths, she said.

“Where I live is not a pet friendly place and I have a service dog,” a Fort Lauderdale renter said, adding, “I have to take him down 5 floors and then around the corner on down the street for him to do his business.”

So-so grades for “Public Transit” are common across the country but are more likely a reflection of a respondent’s proximity to a bus or train line or station than an evaluation of the quality of a community’s bus or train service, she said.

Four of the six South Florida cities got Cs for “Public Transit.” Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale earned Bs. No community got an A.

Still, low grades for public transit could be a signal to rental property managers that renters want a bus to stop near their complexes, Bennet said.

Grades for “Commute Time” varied widely, with Fort Lauderdale getting a B, Miami an F, Hollywood a C+, Pompano Beach a B, West Palm Beach a D and Boca Raton an A.

Boca Raton’s overall report card was awash in As — renters gave it the top letter grade in nine of 12 categories. Only one category was graded below a B. Affordability got aD.

Many commenters tempered their praise for their communities with criticism of the high cost of housing.

“I like very much the city of Boca … but do not like the rent increase each year,” one said.

A West Palm Beach renter said, “Rent is ridiculously too high and getting higher while pay from employers is still the same or too low.”

Those perceptions dovetail with recent studies showing that South Florida rental units are among the most expensive in the nation compared with incomes. In 2016, the Miami metro area, which includes Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, had the largest percentage of renters — 62.8 percent — spending 30 percent or more of their household income on rent, according to an ApartmentList.com study released in November.

The percentage of renters in South Florida is growing, according to U.S. Census estimates. Renters made up 39.9 percent of all households in the Miami metro area in 2016 — up from 36.9 percent in 2013. Between those years, 79,634 rental units were added to the metro area’s housing market, while 31,969 fewer housing units were owner-occupied, the data shows. The region saw a net gain of 47,665 housing units between 2013 and 2016.

While survey grades were notably high for “Safety and Crime Rate,” several respondents raised complaints about crime.

According to a Hollywood renter, “I still don’t feel safe around this particular area because it’s a slew of drug, crime, and gang affiliates that walks the street all day every day.”

Weather earned four As and two Bs. Grades were mixed for “Recreational Activities and Social Life.” Pompano Beach got a D for “Social Life.”

“Dislike immensely — dating is horrible,” a renter said about Pompano Beach.

“No opportunity for dating,” a West Palm Beach renter complained.

While a Fort Lauderdale respondent said, “Lots of parks, very kid friendly,” a Pompano Beach renter groused, “Not enough to do within walking distance. Not enough parks close by.”

The only category with A grades from all six communities was “State and Local Taxes.” That’s understandable because Florida has no state income tax, and most renters don’t see local property tax bills.

A handful of commenters just seem miserable in South Florida.

One Miami renter complained, “I live near traffic congestion, construction and the train tracks. There is no peace and quiet. The city never sleeps. I'm very unsatisfied with where I live.”

A Hollywood renter said, “Everyone could pose to you as a friend or a good neighbor but they all are just watching you and every move you make just to wait until you’re off your game to try and steal and take whatever they can from you.”

Meanwhile, others seem almost more than happy.

Said one person you’d want to invite to a party: “Miami is an amazing city full of young people from all over the world. It is a great place to build a career, meet friends, date, go dancing and relax. The cost of living is quite high, which is tough as a recent graduate, but it becomes affordable as you grow career wise.”

Gushed a Fort Lauderdale renter: “Clean, low crime rate, city government takes care of the parks and roadways. Friendly people, diverse community. Great location in SFLA.”

“I think renters can provide a good indication of how a population is going to change in a city. Homeowners are a more settled bunch. If a bunch of renters are unhappy with affordability of housing, they’re more likely to leave for somewhere else with more job opportunities.” Sydney Bennet, senior research associate for ApartmentList.com