Texas Rents Still Below National Average
Rents in Austin are recording a visible increase during the past 12 months due to a couple of factors, of which the most striking is the area's economic development last year and continuing this year.
AUSTIN, TX—Texas’ largest cities are still in the Goldilocks zone of rents, aka under the national average, according to RENTCafe’s recent rent report using data compiled from actual rents charged in market-rated apartments. The national average rent among the 250-city scope reached $1,436 in April, up $42 since last year, a 3% change.
However, when it comes to Texas’ big cities, the closest metro to that average is Austin, which had the largest rent in April at $1,374, an increase of $60 compared to April last year.
“While month-to-month rent increases are insignificant, rents in Austin are seeing a visible rise over the year,” Daniel Coste, communications specialist with RENTCafé tells GlobeSt.com. “This is due to a couple of factors, of which the most striking is the area’s economic development across 2018. Austin added 36,800 jobs last year, up 3.5% year-over-year, an evolution which is likely to continue, as Apple and WeWork have announced investments in the range of $1 billion each.”
In terms of construction, nearly 11,000 units were built in 2018, and more than 20,500 units were underway as of February, Coste says. A majority of these targeted the upscale segment.
“Despite this, developers have had it difficult in keeping up with demand, which is reflected in the 94.5% occupancy rate in stabilized properties registered in January,” Coste continues. “In effect, we are looking at a delicate balance between increasing economic activity, rising employment and a slew of upper level apartments going online that push rents upwards.”
Next in line for rents is Dallas, which registers average rents of $1,206, up $45 compared to same time in 2018. Fort Worth average rents are lower at $1,097, which is $43 more than last year.
San Antonio rents have passed the $1,000 mark after a $35 year-over-year increase. Rents in that city averaged $1,023.
Houston has the smallest cost change, a $10 difference since 2018. Apartment prices here have now reached $1,100. Near the bottom of the scale is El Paso which has the second-lowest average rent among large US cities: $769 or $21 more than April last year. Aside from El Paso, the other large Texas markets analyzed are close to the national average.
Apartments in 11 of the small cities offer average rent prices in the $700s. Specifically, renters in Brownsville ($711), Amarillo ($726) and Killeen ($737) pay the smallest rent prices in the country.