Construction of apartments in Buffalo and its suburbs has been running rampant in recent years, as developers seek to capitalize on growing demand for new places to live amid a shortage of homes to buy and rising housing prices.
But a study by Forbes Advisor found that Buffalo isn’t the best place for renters. In fact, it is the seventh-worst among 96 big cities nationwide, based on 23 rent-related metrics that reflect rental rates, unit sizes, affordability, amenities and neighborhood features.
It is particularly bad if you’re trying to find a house to rent, because there are so few, with just 3.8% of all rentals. That was the second-worst among all the large cities. Beyond that, it’s eighth-worst for the percentage of pet-friendly rentals, at just 56%, and the percentage of apartments with onsite gyms, at just 21%, compared to the average of 60%.
Buffalo rents rose 5.7% in the past year, ranking sixth-worst, while more than half of Buffalo households, or 54.5%, spent more than 30% of their monthly income on rent.
Buffalo did well for “food and drink establishments,” with 97 for every 1,000 businesses. That was 13th best among the cities. But it was only in the middle for dog parks. It was also middling in walkability, transit, bicycling and parking, as well as the crime rate.
The average one-bedroom in Buffalo rented for $1,053, for an average sized unit of 666 square feet. That is less expensive than the national average rent of $1,301, for 688 square feet. Meanwhile the average two-bedroom rent locally was $1,291, less expensive than the national rate of $1,583, with the average unit totaling 929 square feet here compared to 980 square feet across the country.
As far as amenities, 57% of listings had dishwashers, while 52% had a washer and dryer in the unit and 32% had laundry facilities onsite. That ranked Buffalo 18th, 33rd and 20th worst, respectively.
But 61% had a pool, which is 25th best among all the cities. So, it is…
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