Austin apartment market booms, still no relief for renters

AUSTIN – The Austin area’s apartment market continues to boom, fueled by the region’s population growth and a healthy 3.5 percent job growth rate. While the new supply of apartments has made a dent in the occupancy rate, rents are still climbing.

The strong demand for rental housing is an indicator of the strength of Austin’s economy, which continues to draw highly paid workers from other regions.

Rents across the five-county region — stretching from Georgetown to San Marcos — rose 6.6 percent from a year ago, to an average of $1,172, according to Capitol Market Research, an Austin-based real estate consulting firm.

Experts say some renters who work in Austin are choosing to search for lower rents in suburbs like Kyle and Buda to the south, and Georgetown and Leander to the north.

According to Zumper, a nationwide apartment rental website, in June alone, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Austin’s city limits rose 3.7 percent, to $1,130, while two-bedroom units saw rents rise 5 percent, to $1,480.

Click Austin NewsTalk Texas and Austin Market Research.