Highlighting how rent is currently the trend setter in the real estate market due to high real estate prices, apartment search website RentCafe released a new report listing the most active rental locations in the country.

“Our brand new monthly rental activity report will keep you updated on the latest movements and shifts in renting demand across the 150 largest cities in the U.S.,” highlights RentCafe.

About the Study 

To produce its report, RentCafe analyzed millions of interactions on its apartment search website, focusing on 4 indicators of rental listings to rank the cities with the most in-demand apartments:

1. Availability of apartments
2. Listing views
3. Apartments saved as favorites
4. Saved personalized searches

Likewise, to see the evolution of rental activity by city, the indicators were contrasted with respect to last year.

Key Study Findings

• In April, Atlanta is the most desired city for renters in the U.S.
• Apartment listings in Kansas City, MO, and Albuquerque, NM, ranked 2nd and 3rd
• Detroit landed in 4th place with the highest rise in the rankings compared to March, and Manhattan finishes in the top five

Philadelphia on the Rise

The publication highlights the movement of the rental market in the Northeast, where 5 cities are part of the top 30 nationwide.

Philadelphia ranked 13th, as apartment searchers added five times as many available rentals to their favorites lists compared to a year ago, while doubling the rate of custom apartment searches saved.

The City of Brotherly Love also ranked second, behind Manhattan, NY, in the Northeast Top 10.

Here are more Philadelphia highlights:

• Apartment hunters favorited 434% more Philadelphia apartments compared to last year.  Plus, saved searches from renters browsing RentCafe.com for a place to live increased by 94% in the same timeframe.
• According to RentCafe.com’s listings activity data, this month, Philly listings got more engagement from renters than those in the Bronx (15), Boston (19) or Jersey City (28).

“RentCafe’s Rental Activity Report will be published monthly and can serve as a useful tool when discussing other industry reports for a complete market outlook,” RentCafe added.