Wichita's apartment market hasn't picked up much heat since last year, according to a report.

In its quarterly analysis , RentCafe noted Wichita as the 27th-most competitive small market in the country. The city dropped five places from December of last year in a cooling market that has lost competitiveness by over 10 spots since ranking No. 11 in 2023.

Wichita had a rental competitiveness index score of 76.4, which topped the national average of 75.7 and ranked seventh for the hottest market in its region. The city trailed the larger markets of Omaha (84.4) and Kansas City, Mo. (79.7), both of which ranked in the most competitive rental markets in the country. The metric aims to reflect how difficult it is to lock in a lease in a specific metro.

RentCafe data shows that each available unit in Wichita has six apartment searchers and takes about 37 days to fill compared to 2024, when those numbers stood at 7 and 33.

Fayetteville, Ark. (91.7 competitiveness score) was the most competitive across all small markets, followed by last year's top market Lehigh Valley, Pa. (90.5) and Lafayette, Ind. (87.4). The Midwest made a strong appearance in the most competitive markets nationally with 10 cities in the top 20 rankings. Miami still led the national apartment search website's list of hottest rental markets overall with a score of 93.1.

In Wichita, RentCafe said 67.8% of apartment residents — over two-thirds of the people in apartments — renewed their leases in Wichita, up by 1.6% year-over-year. RentCafe also said that Wichita renters stayed an average of 25 months in an apartment, which was among the shortest lengths in the region, where most renters stay more than the national average of 27.8 months.

Wichita also ranked No. 124 out of the 150 largest U.S. cities for the most rental activity in February. Kansas City, Mo. and Overland Park ranked in the top 10 overall rankings. Available listings were down 8% year-over-year in Overland Park, with demand in fueled by apartment searchers from Chicago and Kansas City.

The RentCafe report also noted an uptick in new apartment construction, which points to recent developments including a two-building, 36-unit apartment development just south of English Street , between Greenwood Avenue and Hydraulic by developers Samuel Jones and Erik Leschuk at Hyde Park Flats LLC. The Wichita City Council approved a letter of intent for up to $4 million in industrial revenue bonds for the project earlier this year.

In January, Paul Jackson's Vantage Point Properties development, with the potential to bring more than 200 residential units to the northwest corner of Washington Avenue and Waterman , started its demolition phase with a 39,000 square-foot, four-story vacant warehouse on the site up next for demolition, Jackson said in January.

Commercial building permits were also issued for Ovation Apartments , a 252-unit Class A complex directly north of Jackson's The Avante at 37th Street and Ridge Road. Ovation, which will include 10 three-story apartment buildings when completed, is on track to deliver its first units by summer's end and the entire complex should be completed by early summer 2026.

On the outskirts of the city, developers have also announced plans for apartment projects in Goddard. Earlier this month, Goddard City Council approved a development agreement and letter of intent for $20 million in industrial revenue bonds for Salina-based developer Overland Property Group to build The Reserves at Meadows 25, which will include a four-story building with 60 apartment units and commercial spaces on the ground floor.

In February, site plans were approved for a project linked to Genesis Health Clubs owner Rodney Steven II that would build a 108-unit apartment complex next to the growing Goddard Sports Complex south of Kellogg. Goddard City Council approved a development agreement and approximately $22 million in industrial revenue bonds for the project.

The city's overall apartment occupancy was above the national average at 94%, RentCafe's report said.