13 Renters Compete For Every Apartment In North Jersey: Study

NEW JERSEY — Having a hard time finding a place to live in North Jersey? You’re not alone: each vacant apartment in the region is getting as many as 13 prospective renters, a new study says.

On Tuesday, real estate website RentCafe released its latest Rental Market Competitiveness Report, which ranked 137 local housing markets across the nation by factors such as the number of days they stay vacant, occupancy rates, turnover, and the number of new units hitting the market.

Read the full study and learn about its methodology here.

The “North Jersey” area – which includes places like Newark, Jersey City, Montclair, Hoboken, Union City, Passaic and Maplewood – ranked 3rd-highest on the list. It was surpassed only by Miami-Dade County in Florida and suburban Chicago.

“Finding a rental in North Jersey remains a challenge for many apartment hunters,” researchers said. “In particular, the recent 0.6 percent increase in the local housing supply hardly meets the demand for apartments, as highlighted by the 96 percent occupancy rate — one of the highest in the country.”

This challenge is heightened by a substantial 71.7 percent lease renewal rate at the beginning of this rental season. Vacant apartments get snatched up within 43 days, researchers said.

What’s keeping the North Jersey rental market so hot? According to RentCafe:

• With an occupancy rate of 96% and the local supply of apartments only increasing by 0.60% in recent months, renters have very limited options to choose from. As a result, each vacant apartment in places like Jersey City, Newark or the surrounding cities attracts as many 13 prospective renters, on average.
• What's more, the area’s limited supply situation is also driven by a surge in lease renewals, with 71,7% of renters choosing to stay put at the start of the 2024 rental season, up 1% from one year ago. This rate is also much bigger than the national average of 62.4%.
• Similarly, hipsturbia is alive and well in small cities scattered across northern New Jersey — such as Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, Union City, Passaic, Maplewood and Montclair — where renters (including Millennials) enjoy walkable downtowns, just enough entertainment and relatively easy access to New York City.
• This resulted in a Rental Competitive Index (RCI) score of 82.3 for North Jersey, surpassing both the national average of 73.4 and the region average of 77.1.

Nationwide, the numbers are a little better – but still discouraging, researchers said.

More renters chose to stay put so far rental season, pushing the lease renewal rate to 62.4 percent – up from 59.7 percent last year. With even more limited options, eight renters are now vying for each available apartment.

The wave of new rentals entering the market recently has remained consistent at 0.61 percent, while the average vacancy period for rentals increased to 46 days, researchers noted.

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