Study Asks, ‘Where are Fla.’s New Renters Coming From?’

By Kerry Smith

In Fla., 34.6% of Miami seekers are looking in Orlando; in Orlando, 20.9% are looking to Miami. Apartment List’s report also found higher demand for short-term leases.

NEW YORK – Apartment List analyzed renters’ website searches for its latest fourth quarter migration report and found a 30% increase in the share of renters looking for leases of six months or less – possibly caused, in part, by the pandemic.

“The uptick in interest for short-term leases is driven by renters looking to leave expensive coastal metros, as well as those looking to move to mid-sized metros in scenic locales,” says Igor Popov, Apartment List’s chief economist.

Housing Economist Chris Salviati says that overall the “pandemic does not seem to have significantly altered the well-worn migration channels that we observe in our search data” – but with one exception – an “increase in demand for leases of six months or less.”

And while the data shows an increased push for renters to move outside the city, in most cases they’re taking the traditional route and looking for nearby suburban locations. “Those looking to leave San Francisco are still most likely to be searching in San Jose or Los Angeles,” Salviati writes in the report.

The report includes an interactive map that can show inbound and outbound searches by city. In Florida, for example, 1 in 3 (34%) potential Orlando renters live outside the metro area compared to 35.1% one year ago. The most common outside-the-metro Orlando renter currently lives in Miami.

However, 25.4% of current Orlando apartment hunters are looking for rentals outside the metro area too, up from 20.9% last year, according to Popov – and Miami is the most popular destination.

Among those looking to move to Orlando from elsewhere, 11.8% are searching for a short-term lease, and 12.2% of renters looking to move away from Orlando want a short-term lease.

For more information on other Florida city’s rental migration patterns, visit Apartment List’s website.

© 2020 Florida Realtors®

Reprinted with Permission. Click here to read the original article.