The 10 most pet-friendly cities for renters
Austin (80 percent), Dallas (79 percent) and San Antonio (78 percent) led all major U.S. metros last year in the share of pet-friendly rental listings on Zillow.
One notable exception was Houston, which ranked dead last with just 38 percent of listings marked as pet friendly.
Those findings come from a new Zillow analysis of 11 million listings nationwide, which showed that 57 percent of rentals allowed pets last year.
But there was wide variance from city to city, with the Lone Star trifecta near 80 percent, while places like Providence, R.I. (43 percent), Hartford, Conn. (43 percent) and San Jos, Calif. (44 percent) were all below half.
The pet-or-no-pet decision has become even more important in recent years as nearly 6 in 10 renters now have a pet, up from 46 percent before the pandemic, Zillow said.
For landlords, allowing pets can pay off, since pet-friendly rentals tend to draw more views and are typically rented out eight days faster, the analysis found.
'In a market where renters have more options, allowing pets can make the difference in finding a tenant quickly,' Emily McDonald, Zillow rental trends expert, said in a statement.
The rental marketplace company said almost half of those who have a pet have passed on a property because it was not pet-friendly, but the advantage to landlords varies from city to city.
In New York City, pet-friendly units are typically rented 26 days faster than places that did not accept pets, the biggest gap of any major market. Tampa, Fla. (16 days), Columbus, Ohio (12 days) and Phoenix, Ariz. (11 days), all saw pet-friendly listings rented out more than 10 days quicker.
Top 10 cities with the highest share of pet-friendly rental listings on Zillow last year:
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