Smart tips for South Florida renters to get the best lease price for an apartment
Renters now have an upper hand in South Florida’s residential real estate market compared to the previous few years.
South Florida’s apartment rent growth flattened in July, a sharp contrast from big annual jumps in 2021 and 2022. It’s thanks to the influx of new apartment buildings in Miami-Dade County and across the tri-county region. In order to secure tenants, landlords and property managers are willing to make concessions, even maybe one or two months of free rent for certain tenants.
Savvy renters can negotiate better lease terms and prices, as long as they do their homework, according to real estate analysts Apartment List senior economist Christopher Salviati, CoreLogic principal economist Molly Boesel and John Burns Research and Consulting senior consulting manager Zachary Nyberg.
“You have the upper hand when negotiating. It’s beneficial not to have turnover in the rental market. It’s costly for the landlord,” Boesel said. “If the property sits empty, that’s money lost.”
It’s best to take advantage now since South Florida rental market conditions again could swing in favor of landlords as soon as next year.
Experts recommend:
▪ Asking for more favorable lease terms upon annual renewal. The worst thing that could happen is your landlord says no.
▪ Preparing ahead of lease renewals. Search on websites like Apartments.com to find rental prices at other nearby apartment communities. Show this pricing information, if your landlord wants more rent than what other comparable buildings nearby are charging.
▪ Shopping around at various apartment buildings, if your landlord wants to raise your rent more than 1% at annual lease renewal.
▪ Saving cash so you can plan to move every year, if necessary, to land the best rental prices — and possibly a free month or two for credit-qualified tenants. New apartment complexes tend to offer the best rental rates, in an effort to fill all the apartments.
▪ Knowing in the next couple of years, asking rents likely are expected to increase by no more than 5% annually.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 3:36 PM.
