North Jersey’s rental market eases – but not a lot
Although North Jersey’s rental market has started to cool down after being named the nation’s most competitive at this time last year, that doesn’t mean it’s gotten much easier to find a place.
According to a recent report by RentCafe, North Jersey has the third-mostcompetitive rental market in the nation at the start of 2024. The region has held the third spot since the summer’s peak season in 2023, ranking behind No. 1 Miami-Dade County, Florida, and No. 2 Milwaukee.
North Jersey includes Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Sussex, Hudson and Union counties in the report, and the region has continued to be the hottest rental market in the Northeast.
In the report, North Jersey received a Rental Competitive Index score of 85.4, and there are about nine prospective renters to every available unit.
“This metro area mostly includes places right across the river from Manhattan like Jersey City, Hoboken and Union City, NJ, where renters get more bang for their buck while still being very close to the Big Apple, as well as more distant New Jersey locales such as Newark, Lyndhurst and Orange,” the report said.
The share of new apartments in North Jersey makes up about 0.51% of all rental units in the area.
Because high home prices and mortgage rates have kept many in the region’s rental market for a longer period of time, the area is still dealing with low rental inventory and high demand. This has resulted in a 95.8% rental occupancy rate with a lease renewal rate of 73.1% at the start of 2024. On average, vacant apartments stay on the market for 38 days.
Several other Northeastern rental markets have also consistently ranked among the 20 most competitive in the nation. But at the start of 2024, only two made the list.
Brooklyn ranked as the 12th-mostcompetitive, with an RCI score of 80.5. Suburban Philadelphia ranked as the 19th-most-competitive with a score of 78.2.
At the start of 2023, eight of the nation’s most competitive rental markets were in the Northeast, including Central Jersey, Manhattan, Greater Boston and Pittsburgh. But competition in these markets dropped going into the new year.
RentCafe analyzed Yardi Systems apartment data across 139 markets in the nation. This included market-rate large-scale multifamily properties of at least 50 units, and excluded fully affordable multifamily properties.