According to one real estate firm, the Lafayette market is the sixth most competitive of mid-sized markets in the U.S. when it comes to finding an apartment at the start of the upcoming rental season.
RentCafe, a national apartment services company, ranked the Lafayette area in its high ranking based on the number of days a unit is vacant, occupancy rate, average number of applicants for a unit and the market’s lease renewal rate. The area rose nine spots from last year’s ranking, receiving a Rental Competitiveness Index score of 86.
The occupancy rate was 96.4%, the highest of the small markets surveyed, and it also ranked highly for average number of applicants (13, sixth place) and average vacancy days (36 days, fourth place). However, the lease renewal rate was low at 64%.
The Southwest Louisiana region, stretching from Calcasieu Parish to West Baton Rouge Parish, also improved in the rankings, according to the report, with the region’s lease renewal rate jumping from 58.1% to 67.1%, mainly due to a lack of new apartment openings in the region recently, and its RCI score of 77, up 12.3 points from last year.
Markets along the Gulf Coast improved in the rankings from last year, with Palm Beach County, Florida, seeing the largest increase of 14 points.
RentCafe compiled its annual list by analyzing data from 137 rental markets across the U.S. The data comes directly from large, market-rate apartment complexes with at least 50 units.
In the Lafayette area, which had some of the most expensive rents in the state in 2021, data showed the overall average rent in June was $1,014, the lowest among six areas in the state, as reported by national research organization Apartment List.
