(NewsNation) — For renters with pets, finding a home isn’t easy — unless you’re looking in Texas.
Leading all major U.S. metros last year in the share of pet-friendly rental listings on Zillow were Austin (80%), Dallas (79%) and San Antonio (78%).
One notable exception was Houston, which ranked dead last with just 38% of listings marked pet-friendly.
Those findings come from a new Zillow analysis of 11 million listings nationwide, which showed that 57% of rentals allowed pets last year.
But there was wide variance from city to city, with the Lone Star trifecta near 80%, while places like Providence (43%), Hartford (43%) and San Jose (44%) were all below 50%.
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% 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.
Zillow 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 do not accept pets, the biggest gap of any major market. Tampa, Florida, (16 days); Columbus, Ohio, (12 days), and Phoenix (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:
- Austin, Texas (80%)
- Dallas, Texas (79%)
- San Antonio, Texas (78%)
- Denver, Colorado (77%)
- Nashville, Tennessee (77%)
- Kansas City, Missouri (76%)
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (72%)
- Charlotte, North Carolina (72%)
- Raleigh, North Carolina (72%)
- Jacksonville, Florida, (70%) and Tampa, Florida (70%)
