PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV is breaking down a new study that showed finding a place to rent in Port St. Lucie is getting tougher.
A study by RentCafe, a rental listing company, shows Port St. Lucie is the third most competitive small renters market in the U.S., with 13 renters competing for the same unit. Palm Beach County was No. 5 on the list.
WATCH BELOW: Study says it's getting tougher to rent in Port St. Lucie
Allie Griffin moved to Port St. Lucie five years ago, and she had no trouble finding a place to rent.
"We came down here with some savings and a dream," Griffin said. "We were able to make it happen."
The real estate market is somewhat different now in 2025.
Renters like Masen Nartatez agreed.
"I know there's a lot of people trying to move here," Naratatez said. "A lot of people are trying to find housing."
The RentCafe analysis also showed more than 95% of apartments are occupied in Port St. Lucie, and there has been a zero percent share of new apartments in the market.
But Kelley Decowski, a real estate agent on the Treasure Coast, told WPTV reporter Tyler Hatfield she doesn't agree with the study.
"I don't feel like we're actually really seeing that in practice," Decowski said.
Hatfield spoke to Decowksi in January about another RentCafe survey that showed Port St. Lucie with the highest percent increase of rental units in Florida for 2024.
Decowksi said those units are still available.
"We still see a lot of rental inventory available, especially on those annual rentals," Decowski said.
We checked, and she's not wrong.
If you visit Zillow and search for apartments in Port St. Lucie, it shows more than 1,000 units available.
But if you modify your search to the city's average rent price of $1,815, it drops to less than 200.
"There are things available," Decowski said. "The question is going to be whether people want to pay for what is available."
Kelley said one of the biggest hurdles renters will face isn't competition but pricing.
"As this inventory increased, we should have seen prices coming down," Decowksi said. "That does not seem to be happening."
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