By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS Chief Economist
As high mortgage rates continued to put many potential homebuyers on the sidelines, Southeast Florida’s residential rental market finished strong in 2024. The rental market saw positive rent growth, a low vacancy rate, and the most robust multifamily construction activity in the nation.
In the Miami Metro Area, the typical asking rent ended 2.6% higher than one year ago and In the Port St. Lucie Metro Area, the typical asking rent rose 4.3%. Nationally, the typical asking rent rose 2.4% in December.[1]
A healthy vacancy rate has bolstered rent growth in the Miami Metro area. The Miami Metro area had a vacancy rate of 5.8% as of the end of December that is lower than the national vacancy rate of 6.8%.[2] In the Port St. Lucie Metro area, the vacancy rate of 9.1% was higher than the nation’s but the vacancy rate eased down during the year from a 12.9% one year ago.
Miami-Dade County’s multifamily rental market continues to have the most intense construction activity among 90 metro areas[3]. As of 2024 Q3, about 25,000 units in 50 unit+ buildings were under construction, equivalent to 19% of the current inventory and three years of the current annual pace of net absorption. Fort Lauderdale has roughly 8,000 units under construction or 7% of current inventory, equivalent to two years of the current pace of annual absorption. Palm Beach County has about 2,700 units under construction, adding 4% to the current inventory and equivalent to about one year of the current pace of annual absorption.
The intense construction activity has pushed vacancy rates upwards especially in Palm Beach County (10.8%), Orlando metro (10.4%), and Tampa metro (10.4%). In Miami-Dade County, the vacancy rate is at 6.7%, much lower than the national rate of 8.7%.
Miami-Dade’s vacancy rate is also lower than other major Florida markets like the Tampa metro area (9.9%), Sarasota (15.7%), Orlando (10.1%), and Jacksonville (13.7%). These high vacancy rates have led to slower rent growth in these markets and even a decline in asking rents in Orlando and Jacksonville.
Ss mortgage rates exhibited swings with mortgage rates hitting nearly 7% by end of the year, single-family rentals gained market share, making up 37% of listings in 2024, slightly up from 36% of listings in 2023[4]. In 2019, single-family listings accounted for 29% of rental listings on the MIAMI MLS and listings posted directly on the Rental Beast platform, a tenant screening platform with about 12 million listings.
Hot Rental Zip Codes in December 2024
Based on MIAMI MLS and Rental Beast.com listings, MIAMI Realtors® identified hot rental zip codes in December that had more active listings and higher median asking rents from one year ago.
Miami-Dade County
There were 18 hot rental zip codes where active listings and rents rose. median asking rents rose at a double-digit pace in zip codes 33170 (+84.6%) which includes the city of Miami and the unincorporated places of Princeton and the Goulds, 33133 (+54.3%) in the neighborhood of Brickell, and 33127 (+ 17%) where the University of Miami is located and the Wynwood neighborhood. Homestead zip codes (33032, 33033, 33035) and a Hialeah zip code ( 33016) were also in the hot rental zip codes list.
Broward County
There were 14 hot rental zip codes in Broward County located in the municipalities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, and Dania Beach. The highest rent growths were in the Fort Lauderdale zip codes 33305 (+15%) and 33301 (+18%), both coastal areas. Zip code 33027 in Hollywood had the third highest rent growth (+10%).
Palm Beach County
There were 16 hot rental zip codes in Palm Beach County, mainly along the coastal markets. The highest rent growths were in Boca Raton (33487, 33434), Palm Beach Gardens (33418), and West Palm Beach (33403, 33404), Boynton Beach (33437), and Palm Beach (33480). These coastal areas are tourist destinations and the increase in rents at this time of the year could indicate a healthy tourist season from Canada and the northern US states seeking the warm Florida weather in the winter.
Martin County and St. Lucie County
Two zip codes in Stuart, Martin County (34994, 34997) and two zip codes in the Port St. Lucie (34986) and Fort Pierce (34982) in St. Lucie County saw higher active listings and higher asking rents in December 2024 from one year ago. The zip codes are coastal areas that are attractive to tourists, indicating the rentals could be for short-term stay.
Download the Southeast Florida Rental Market Report December 2024 HERE.
[1] Zillow Observed Rent Index
[2] Apartment List.com
[3] Cushman and Wakefield
[4] MIAMI MLS and Rental Beast listings