A new report ranks Harrisburg among the most competitive rental markets in the nation, with fewer available apartments, high renewal rates for leases, and no new apartments built during the span of the study.
RentCafe.com reports that the Harrisburg area ranked fourth overall in the nation for highly-competitive markets, coming in only after the Miami-Dade County and Orlando rental markets in Florida and the Grand Rapids market in Michigan.
Even with a much smaller population, the Harrisburg market rivals those larger urban areas in percentage of occupied apartments and in lease renewal rates, as well as in the number of prospective renter for every property that does become available.
And in one key area, Harrisburg has the lowest score of any of the top 20 competitive markets: during the time the study was taken (which ran from the beginning of 2022 through August), they found zero new apartments or rental properties were built.
“Faced with growing demand for rentals and virtually no new apartments built, Harrisburg is the fourth most competitive rental market in the nation,” the report reads.
Harrisburg tied the Miami-Dade County market for the highest rate of lease renewal, with 75 percent of people staying put when their lease ends. The national average is closer to 63 percent.
“With an already high occupancy rate (96.5%) and apartment construction stagnating, apartments for rent were harder to find in Harrisburg than in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh,” the website reads.
Their study states that apartment hunters in the Harrisburg area are competing with an average of 17 other applicants, and vacant apartments are filled in an average of 33 days.
The website also lists several reasons why apartments in the Harrisburg market are in such high demand, including a lower cost of living compared to bigger metropolitan areas, combined with relative proximity to big cities