Philadelphia-area apartments are experiencing a surge in interest from out-of-town renters, fueled largely by newcomers who are relocating from New York, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

During the third quarter of 2025, Philadelphia apartment listings saw greater traffic from out-of-region renters than from local residents, a trend that represents a significant shift since before the pandemic, according to a new Realtor.com study.

Local views of rentals declined by roughly one-third in the third quarter, falling to 45 percent from 68.2 percent during the same period in 2019.

“I think there are a lot of people within Philadelphia who feel like this is not a good year for them to upgrade their rental,” said Joel Berner, senior economist from Realtor.com.

Overall, after combining both local and out-of-town renters, New York generated the most traffic, making up 25 percent of total views, a sharp jump from 6.7 percent before the pandemic. It also represented nearly half of all out-of-town traffic at 48 percent, far surpassing Washington D.C. at 8 percent, the Atlanta metro area at 3.4 percent, and the Chicago area at 2.7 percent.

Read more about Philadelphia’s rental market and the trend it’s been seeing in recent years in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in November 2025.