By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS Chief Economist
Key Takeaways
- Multifamily asking rents rose at a stronger pace in June 2025 in the Miami Metro Area (1.6%) and in the Port St. Lucie Metro Area (3.9%) compared to most Sunbelt areas.
- Single-family asking rent growth in the Miami Metro Area (2.5%) and in the Port St. Lucie Metro Area (2.0%) also outpaced most Sunbelt areas.
- The higher cost of owning versus renting continues to drive the demand for single-family rentals with the cost of owning exceeding the cost of renting across all counties: Miami-Dade County (+$2,056), Broward County (+$1,637), and in Palm Beach County (+$1,563), Martin County (+$2,057), and St. Lucie County (+$652).
Download the June 2025 Southeast Florida Rental Market Report HERE.
Miami Metro and Port St. Lucie Metro rent growth outpaced most Sunbelt markets
Multifamily asking rents rose at a stronger pace in June 2025 in the Miami Metro Area and in the Port St. Lucie Metro Area compared to most Sunbelt areas where rents fell. In June 2025, the median asking rent on multifamily units rose 1.6% in the Miami Metro Area and 3.9% in the Port St. Lucie Metro Area. Nationally, multifamily asking rents rose 2.3%.
In most Sunbelt markets, the median multifamily asking rents were lower in June 2025 from one year ago: Atlanta (0.6%), Dallas (0.3%), Houston (0.1%), Charlotte (0.0%), Orlando (0.0%), Las Vegas (-0.4%), San Antonio (-1.8%), Phoenix (-1.8%), Denver (-2.5%), and Austin (-3.9%), according to Zillow rental data.
Asking rents have fallen in many Sunbelt metro areas where rental vacancy rates are higher than in the Miami Metro Area (6%) and nationally (7.0%), such as in Austin (10%), Dallas (8.7%), Houston (8.5%), .Charlotte (8.7%), Atlanta (7.7%), Jacksonville (7.5%), and Orlando (7.5%), according to Apartment List data.
However, the Miami Metro area vacancy rate is higher than other gateway metro areas like New York (4.9%), Chicago (4,9%), Boston (5.2%), Washington DC (5.5%), Los Angeles (5.0%), and San Francisco (4.6%) where new construction has not been as robust as in the Sunbelt markets.
Rent growth has been moderating in the Miami Metro Area and could continue to ease with significant construction underway. As of June 2025, there were 24,300 units under construction, adding 17% to existing inventory, the most intense construction activity among 90 markets tracked by Cushman and Wakefield.
Sustained demand for single-family rentals as cost of owning exceeds the cost of renting
The median single-family asking rent in the Miami Metro area rose 2.5% and 2.0% in the Port St. Lucie Metro area in June 2025. While asking rent growths have moderated, the pace is slower in several Sunbelt markets like Phoenix (1.9%), Orlando (1.7%), Las Vegas (1.6%), Dallas (1.6%), San Antonio (0.8%), and Austin (-0.1%).
Demand for single-family rentals remains high compared to pre-pandemic levels. Over the past three months ended June, there were on average 9,030 single-family rental listings monthly in the Southeast Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie on the MIAMI MLS and tracked by Rental Beast a tenant screening platform. This pace is triple the monthly listings in June 2019 (3,139). Single-family rentals made up 37% of the total rental listings on the MIAMI MLS and on Rental Beast, up from a 21% share in January 2019.
Higher cost of owning versus renting drives rental demand
The higher cost of owning versus renting continues to drive the demand for single-family rentals. As of May 2025, the median expected costs of owning a single-family home (principal payment, interest, taxes, and insurance) purchased at the median sales price with 10% downpayment were higher than the median single-family asking rents in Miami-Dade County (+$2,056), Broward County (+$1,637), and in Palm Beach County (+$1,563), Martin County (+$2,057), and St. Lucie County (+$652).
Comparing the median costs of owning (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) to the median rent, Palm Beach is the most expensive area to own a home than to rent. The cost of owning is also higher in cities like Miami, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. Meanwhile, it is cheaper to own than to rent in the coastal areas of Hallandale Beach, Boynton Beach, Dania Beach, or Deerfield Beach.
