'Well-heeled renters' make North Jersey rental market the most competitive in US: Study

High home prices, tight housing supply and inflation have made North Jersey the most competitive rental market in the nation at the start of 2023, according to a study released last week. 

RentCafe, in its recent Rental Competitivity Report, showed North Jersey, which includes Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties, even outdoing Manhattan and Brooklyn in terms of how tough it is to find an apartment. 

“Aspiring homebuyers continue to rent in North Jersey while enjoying a relatively affordable cost of living for the tri-state area,” the study reads. “This allows renters to save for down payments until the housing market cools down enough that they can fulfill their dream of owning a home. Accordingly, North Jersey became the hottest renting spot in the country at the beginning of 2023.”

Northeast ultra competitive

The study looked at 20 of the nation’s most competitive rental markets. Eight of the nation’s most competitive rental markets were in the Northeast, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Greater Boston and suburban Philadelphia. 

The top five markets were North Jersey; Miami-Dade; Harrisburg; Grand Rapids, and Omaha.

"In order to come up with the average for North Jersey we analyzed data coming directly from multifamily properties in 145 cities in North Jersey, totaling more than 250,000 apartments," said Joanna Truscan, a spokesperson for RentCafe. "This list includes the largest cities in North Jersey."

That includes Newark, Jersey City, Hackensack and Hoboken.

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High occupancy and high rents

RentCafe estimated that 72% of renters renewed their leases, and that the region had an occupancy rate of 96.6%. A rental stayed on the market an average of 34 days, the study estimated, compared to the national average of 38 days. Upwards of 12 people would compete for an apartment for a time in some cases, the report said. 

That led to a Rental Competitivity Index rate of 115, compared to the national rate of 60, at the start of 2023.

Between 2021 and 2022, rent jumped 17.32%, according to a separate study by Credit Karma, the seventh highest rent increase on the list in the nation. 

“In recent years, North Jersey has turned into a desirable location for well-heeled renters looking for nicer apartments, more elbow room and a better work/life balance while still being close to the Big Apple’s attractions,” RentCafe said. “For this reason, finding an apartment for rent in this popular part of New Jersey is no easy task these days.”

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