Finding an apartment in SLC is getting more difficult, research finds

How hard is it to find a vacant apartment in Salt Lake City in early 2025? According to the Rental Competitiveness Report from rental website RentCafe.com, finding rental is considerably more challenging in the area compared to the same time last year. In fact, Salt Lake City is one of the fiercest markets in the West, second only to Las Vegas.

Apartment inventory increased much more slowly in the past year, while more people chose to renew their leases than a year ago. According to the findings, renters in Salt Lake City typically stay for at least one year and 10 months, which also makes apartment hunting more difficult.

Here are some specifics from the RentCafe.com study:

Inventory growth: Salt Lake City’s apartment stock grew by 1.22 percent, and while it’s over the national increase of 0.75 percent, it is way below last year’s 2.4 percent increase. Thus, more than half of all renters (59 percent) chose to remain in their current rentals, up 2.7 percent year-over-year.

Limited availability: Ninety-three percent of apartments are already occupied in the area, which has fueled competition even more. As a result, each apartment hunter must now compete with five others to secure a lease, the same as a year ago.

How fast apartments get leased: In Salt Lake City, a typical unit gets rented in 40 days, beating the national average of 43 days. It’s the fastest “lease-up” time among large western rental markets analyzed.