Minneapolis is a hot market for renters
MINNEAPOLIS — If you're looking for a new place to rent, you might want to act fast. A new report from RentCafe says Minneapolis is the most sought after city for renters in the U.S.
"I feel like Minneapolis has been a good kept secret for a long time," said Signe Voigt, a Minneapolis resident.
But that secret seems to be out. According to RentCafe, Minneapolis was the most sought after city in the country last month —beating out Queens, Detroit and Atlanta.
"I'm not surprised. I think the cost of living in and of itself is more like mid to low level. There's also just I feel like a lot of job opportunity," said Signe Voigt
"I love living downtown. It's really fun. There's so many new restaurants popping up. And I like that the city is so walkable," said Leah Berghoff, another Minneapolis resident. "So we get to get out like today and go on walks across the stone arch. And that's beautiful. And you're always nearby something fun to do. So it's been a great place to live."
There is one sore spot for renters in almost every city — the rent. While the cost nationwide has started to come down the last few months, prices are still more than 20% higher than they were pre-pandemic.
"It's been difficult. I won't lie, like, rent has really increased over the last few years. And it's it's felt like a squeeze. Just the other day I was on Zillow, looking at condos and thinking, would it be better to own both HOAs and everything?"
But because our rental market is so hot, relief could be on the way.
"What developers and the business community is doing is building to meet that demand, that market demand," said Doug Ressler of Yardi Matrix, parent company of RentCafe. "And what you see is a higher percentage of stock being completed in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area than what it had been previously."
More options means more competition and apartments may have to offer more incentives.
"Renters will see new concessions being offered concessions, meaning that people are trying to retain renters or to attract new renters. So it's a renters market right now," Ressler said.
According to RentCafe, the number of people searching for a place in Minneapolis jumped 159% compared to last year but the number of available apartments was down 26%.