Renters in some South Florida neighborhoods could save as much as 45 percent splitting rent with a roommate than paying for a one-bedroom apartment, according to a new study.
Getting a roommate in the Miami metro area saved renters 40 percent, marking the fourth biggest savings in the U.S., Renthop found. On average, a one-bedroom apartment in September was asking $1,500 a month in Miami compared to $1,800 a month for a two-bedroom.
In some pockets of South Florida, savings could total 45 percent. The area with the biggest rent difference was in a Pembroke Pines neighborhood, New Hampton at Century Village, where the gap between a one-bedroom unit and a two-bedroom was only $100. By splitting the bigger apartment, each roommate would save about 45 percent, or $500, on their rent.
Next was Little Haiti, where rent payments were reduced by 45 percent.
In the more desirable Miami Beach, the difference was only 22 percent, or $375, between a one-bedroom, asking $1,725 a month; and a two-bedroom, asking $2,700. Downtown Fort Lauderdale was similar, asking $2,100 versus $3,125, a difference of 23 percent or $475 a month, the report shows.
There was no difference in the affluent South Pointe (South-of-Fifth) neighborhood in Miami Beach.
In the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, one-bedroom units cost the average renter $2,100, compared to $2,900 for a two-bedroom. There, the difference between complete privacy and sharing represents only 17 percent, or only $345 a month.
Splitting rent with a roommate is most cost-effective in Washington, D.C., where residents save nearly 43 percent by sharing a two-bedroom apartment, according to the report.
Chicago, Boston, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles followed Washington. In the top U.S. cities, per-person savings ranged from about $555 in Los Angeles to $724 in Washington.