AUSTIN, Texas — Average apartment rents for the Austin area have hit an all-time high, an expert told KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.
Charles Heimsath has been tracking conditions in the area's real estate market since the early 1990s. He told the Statesman that between December and June, average rents jumped by their largest percentage ever in the time he's been tracking the market.
Heimsath said apartment rents in the area – which spans from Georgetown to San Marcos – increased, on average, 11.6% from December to June. He told the Statesman that he expected to see a slow down during the first half of the year, but that didn't happen.
"Rents continue to rise with no relief in sight," Heimsath said.
The Statesman reports that in June, the average rent for all apartment unit sizes combined was $1,702 – up 20.5% from $1,412 in June 2021.
A one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit averaged $1,529 a month, up 22.3% from $1,250 a month in June 2021, according to the Statesman. Rents for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units rose 21.2%, to $1,886 on average in June compared with $1,556 in June 2021. And for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, rents averaged $1,915 a month, up from $1,611, for an 18.9% increase.
The Statesman reports that industry experts say the high cost is partially because it takes more money to build and maintain units these days.
However, industry experts also say that while rent prices look like they will keep increasing for a while, the rate of increase is slowing down.
Heimsath told the Statesman that, by his count, there are about 30,000 apartment units under construction in the Austin area. In the second half of this year, about 10,000 more units are due to open, half of which will be in complexes that are already partially open, Heimsath said.
To learn more, read the Statesman's full report.
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