By: Stacy Wescoe| For: Lehigh Valley Business
The Lehigh Valley remains a hot market for rentals.
RentCafé.com has released its 2023 Year End Report that shows that the Lehigh Valley has the sixth most competitive rental market in the U.S., sandwiched between Knoxville, Tennessee and Madison, Wisconsin.
According to the company, the fierce competition among renters, fueled by the sky-high renewal rates, pushed this Pennsylvania market high on its ranking.
Compared to the national averages, newly constructed apartments increased by 2.8% in Lehigh Valley this year versus the national benchmark of 1.8%.
The occupancy rate in Lehigh Valley was 96.4% versus the national average of 94%. The survey showed that 79.8% of renters chose to renew their leases in 2023 versus the national benchmark of 60.2%. On average, 15 prospective renters competed for the same vacant rental in Lehigh Valley in 2023 versus 9 nationwide.
Vacant apartments in Lehigh Valley were filled in 36 days versus 38 days, the national average.
RentCafe.com said it analyzed the 139 largest markets in the U.S. where data was available and ranked them based on five key metrics when it comes to rental competitiveness.
Those metrics included the number of days apartments stayed vacant; the percentage of rentals that were occupied; the number of prospective renters competing for an apartment; the percentage of renters who renewed their leases and the share of apartments completed this year.