Zillow named Providence, Rhode Island, as the hottest rental market of 2026
Where Renters May Be Heading Next
Fresh Zillow data offers a look at where relocation demand may be headed in the future. A new analysis shows that Buffalo, New York; Chicago; and Houston posted the largest year-over-year increases in out-of-town rental search share, signaling where outside interest may be growing.
Buffalo saw the steepest climb in outside interest, with its out-of-town rental share increasing 4.2 percentage points year over year. After Chicago and Houston, New Orleans and Dallas rounded out the top five markets for the biggest gains.
“Renting is how people try out a new community before committing. When we see a market with a growing share of rental searches coming from outside the metro, that tips us off to a developing pipeline,” said Zillow chief economist Mischa Fisher. “A year-over-year surge in out-of-town browsing in places like Buffalo and Chicago tells us a wave of newcomers may not be far behind.”
According to Zillow, the markets that drew the most out-of-town rental interest are concentrated in the Sun Belt and Mid-Atlantic regions, primarily ones that have absorbed years of relocation demand from higher-cost coastal areas.
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Raleigh, North Carolina, topped the list with 59% of page views on rental listings from outside of the metro. Hartford, Connecticut; New Orleans; Salt Lake City; and Nashville, Tennessee, rounded out the top five. Also of note, Providence, Rhode Island, which Zillow named as the hottest rental market of 2026, came in at No. 6 with 51.5% of rental page views coming from out-of-towners.
Most cross-market rental searches are happening between neighboring metro areas. For example, Washington, D.C., searchers comprised 23.9% of all rental page views on Baltimore listings, and Los Angeles searchers accounted for 21.3% of rental page views for nearby Riverside.
When examining the long-distance searches—markets in different states and at least 100 miles apart—most occurred within neighboring states. However, New York searchers stood out for looking to the South. Rental shoppers in the New York metro comprised 2.8% of all page views in Raleigh, about 425 miles away, as well as large shares of views in the Sunshine State’s Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.
Zillow also examined the local search share. Cincinnati led the local share growth, up 8.1 percentage points year over year, while Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio, grew their share.
New York also topped the list for 76.3% of page views on rental listings coming from locals, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago. As the three biggest markets in the nation, Zillow attributes their population sizes as the primary reason for the local rental traffic with more potential shoppers. The metros that were shown to outperform their population included St. Louis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Las Vegas.
Source: Multifamily Executive
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