Angelica Guerra has lived in a two-bedroom apartment in North Miami with her family for the last four years.
Guerra says the rent has never decreased when it’s time to renew her lease.
Now, she’s considering leaving the Miami area, as she’s struggling to find an apartment within her budget.
“I’ve been looking into maybe going to Fort Lauderdale. Or maybe even Orlando, because it’s really cheap over there,” Guerra said.
RentCafe recently released a report showing that the Miami metro area added nearly 8,700 affordable apartment units between 2020 and 2024.
However, RentCafe data also shows that the average apartment rent in Miami has dropped by only 0.01 percent compared to last year.
A RentCafe spokesperson explained that their criteria for “affordable housing” apply to residential buildings in which all units are income-restricted, meaning rent is set so that it does not exceed 30% of the Area Median Income.
RentCafe analyzed 149 U.S. metro areas based on three factors: socioeconomics, quality of life, and location & community. Miami ranked 90th in the study, largely due to its low socioeconomic score (98th), as the cost of living is well above the national average.
Realtor Stefania Mogollon conducted her own search using her listings service and found that, across all of Miami-Dade County, the median price of a listed one-bedroom rental is about $1,800.
Mogollon notes that affordability can depend on a person’s preferred location.
“Each person’s budget is different. And what I’m encountering now with all of the budgets my clients have is that they have more options to choose from,” Mogollon said.
According to Mogollon, tenants now have more bargaining power. She says the influx of new housing units has created more competition—something tenants didn’t have when people flocked to Florida at the start of the decade.
“They need to fill these apartments, and what are they doing? Offering amazing incentives,” Mogollon said. “My clients can easily move to the next building where they’ll get one month free, a brand new TV, and a $500 deposit.”
CBS News Miami showed Guerra some of the data Mogollon uncovered. Guerra hopes these tools can help her get a better deal on her next place.
“Hopefully I can find somewhere else to go, where they take care of the property and I feel comfortable,” Guerra said.
Mogollon adds that renters can hire a realtor to negotiate on their behalf. She says realtors know the market better and often have access to data that isn’t public. Many times, her clients have rented a place below the listing price.
