Rent just decreased in Miami-area cities. Here’s where you can live for less money

Residential rents across South Florida dropped in November. Let us repeat that again. Many of us are now paying less for rent.

In a region where housing costs seem to be going up with no end in sight, this news in South Florida sounds shocking after triple-digit increases during the pandemic.

But rents have indeed decreased year-over-year — 1% to 15% — in several cities across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the latest monthly Miami Metro report by online national rental listing company Zumper.

The company surveyed the median asking rents in November 2023 versus November 2022 for new listings in 29 of the most populated cities in the tri-county area. The listings consist of apartments, condos, houses and townhouses on Zumper and third-party sites, including the Multiple Listing Service.

Where are the biggest changes?

Asking rents dwindled in 14 cities for one bedrooms and in 10 cities for two bedrooms:

Rents fell the most in Sunny Isles Beach (14.4%), Plantation (10.1%) and Dania Beach (10.1%) for one-bedroom residences, and in Aventura (14.5%), North Miami (10.4%) and Fort Lauderdale (5.7%) for two bedrooms.

Asking rents stayed flat — less than a 1% change — in six cities for one-bedroom residences and in seven cities for two bedrooms. For one-bedrooms, the cities include Miami Beach (0%), Aventura (0%), Hallandale Beach (0.5%), Coral Springs (0%), Oakland Park (0.6%) and Homestead (0%). For two-bedrooms, rents remained flat in Miami (0.6%), Doral (0%), Plantation (0.8%), Davie (0.4%), Coral Springs (0%), Oakland Park (0.5%) and West Palm Beach (0%).

Still, some cities saw rents increase. Rents rose the most in Hollywood (11.8%), Coral Gables (9.4%) and Hialeah (7.4%) for one-bedroom rentals, and in Miami Gardens (14.3%), Hollywood (9.2%) and Sunny Isles Beach (7.9%) for two bedrooms.

Why are rents decreasing?

Migration and rental supply drove down rents, said Crystal Chen, a Zumper data analyst.

“It is a renters’ market,” she said, “and renters are in the driving seat. Good news for them since rents are coming down a lot.”

Annual rents first showed signs of cooling this summer. Rents soared during the pandemic as wealthy people moved to town. Executives and remote workers relocated to South Florida during the pandemic for the warm climate, zero income tax and lean COVID policies.

But some of those transplants have returned home to the Northeast or West Coast, called back to the office or just missing their familiar territory. And long-time residents also found new places to call home, in cities with lower costs of living. All of that has contributed to Miami-Dade County’s nearly 28,000 population decline in recent years.

Supply is influencing rent prices in South Florida. The region had about 19,000 active rental listings in November 2023, up from about 8,000 listings in November 2022.

Rents, Chen said, are expected to fall further or remain steady for most cities in South Florida through the first half of next year.

Are residential rents out of reach?

Falling rent sounds like good news for residents. But not so fast.

Rents remain out of reach for most people in South Florida —especially in the cities that saw the biggest price declines. So the good news: Rent is down a lot in Sunny Isles Beach, home luxury glass towers. The bad news: You can’t afford to live there anyway.

The median asking rent for a one-bedroom residence is $1,780 per month in Dania Beach, $1,950 in Plantation and $2,500 in Sunny Isles Beach, according to the Miami Metro Zumper report. Montly rents are higher for two bedrooms at $2,500 in North Miami, $2,800 in Fort Lauderdale and $3,360 in Aventura.

Over half of renter households in Miami-Dade County earn below $50,000 a year, based on the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment report by the University of Florida and Miami Homes for All. As a result, many renters are likely to be cost-burdened, meaning they spend over a third of their income on rent. So someone earning $50,000 a year would have to spend at most about $1,800 per month to have enough to spend on food, utilities, savings and recreation.

The reality is demand has slowed, but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, said Eli Beracha, real estate professor and director of Florida International University’s Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate.

“It’s migration, but not panic migration,” Beracha said. “The panic is behind us. Now you see those regular moves. You’re going to see prices changing over time.”

While some people are returning to their home state, many from California, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut continue to relocate to South Florida. People from other countries are continuing to come, too.

All this movement is keeping rent prices above what cities saw before 2019.

Many cities experienced rent drops or stabilization in South Florida, countering the trend of up to triple-digit increases seen during the pandemic. Above: Cyclists ride over the Rickenbacker Causeway with Brickell in the distance.
Many cities experienced rent drops or stabilization in South Florida, countering the trend of up to triple-digit increases seen during the pandemic. Above: Cyclists ride over the Rickenbacker Causeway with Brickell in the distance.

How housing costs are affecting us

While workers moved to South Florida during the pandemic, the high cost of housing and living drove out clusters of residents. And many still here are thinking about leaving.

Aurora Mendoza lives with her two sons in a two-bedroom apartment in Little Havana. Her sons — both in college — share a room. She supports the family with a full-time job cleaning an office building in Brickell for $13.50 an hour. It’s just enough to pay for the $2,000 a month apartment.

She’s fighting for higher pay as part of the 32BJ SEIU union, a branch of the national Justice for Janitors movement. She has to work another four hours at an outreach center as well as sell homemade dishes — her specialties include empanadas, a Nicaraguan-style Sopa de Borracho, flan, and tres leches — to pay for electricity, utilities and food.

“It is very hard. Yes, before you could save a little, but the light bill goes up, food goes up,” Mendoza said. “Everything is going up and salaries are staying the same.”

Several of her friends left during the pandemic to Georgia, Texas, Colorado and North Carolina, finding cheaper rent and higher pay. Her sons contemplate a similar future.

“My kids are thinking about moving to another state, because they say it’s the only way to get ahead,” Mendoza said. “None of us are happy” about the prospect of leaving, “but if it’s what’s best for my sons, I will move.”