Austin rents have tumbled for 19 straight months, data from Zillow show. The typical asking rent in the capital city sat at $1,645 as of December, according to Zillow — above where rents stood prior to the pandemic but below where they peaked amid the region’s red-hot growth.
Surrounding suburbs like Round Rock, Pflugerville and Georgetown, which saw rents grow by double-digit percentages amid the region’s pandemic boom, also have seen declining rents. Rents aren’t falling as quickly as they rose during the pandemic run-up in costs, but there are few places in the Austin region where rents didn’t fall sometime in the last year.
The chief reason behind Austin’s falling rents, real estate experts and housing advocates said, is a massive apartment building boom unmatched by any other major city in Texas or in the rest of the country. Apartment builders in the Austin area kicked into overdrive during the pandemic, resulting in tens of thousands of new apartments hitting the market.
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That boom resulted in part because of a shifting political culture around new housing, Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela said.
As in many other major cities, existing homeowners and neighborhood groups that opposed allowing more homes to be built for decades held significant sway at Austin City Hall. But those forces lost favor amid the city’s skyrocketing housing costs during the pandemic. Austin voters elected City Council members — including Vela — more friendly to housing development.
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One result of the city’s falling rents: Austin’s no longer Texas’ most expensive major city for renters. The region’s population and job growth slowed as apartment building took off. As Fort Worth overtook Austin to become the state’s fourth-largest city, its rents surpassed Austin’s, too.
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Though rents have dipped, the Austin region’s housing costs remain high. It’s unclear how long the downward trend in Austin rents will last. While nearly 17,000 apartments are under construction, according to MRI data, builders have pulled back on new projects amid the glut.
Western Washington needs more building like this too, but NIMBYism is pretty rampant here. It seems like they keep trying to come up with solutions that involve anything but building more...
Western Washington needs more building like this too, but NIMBYism is pretty rampant here. It seems like they keep trying to come up with solutions that involve anything but building more housing/density. It's a shame.
I will say though Western Washington has the added unfortunate factor of not really having the ability to expand outward. Mountains on the right, ocean on the left. Really need to expand density.
We could expand literally anywhere other than the I5 corridor, it feels like. Woodinville, Monroe, Maple Valley, Enumclaw, pick one and funnel some state money into the proper infrastructure and...
We could expand literally anywhere other than the I5 corridor, it feels like. Woodinville, Monroe, Maple Valley, Enumclaw, pick one and funnel some state money into the proper infrastructure and spread us out a tiny bit.
Won't happen due to urban growth boundaries in Washington state. I don't have the sources right now, but I think something like 75% of Seattle housing is still single-family. There's plenty of...
Won't happen due to urban growth boundaries in Washington state. I don't have the sources right now, but I think something like 75% of Seattle housing is still single-family. There's plenty of ability to build up density within the existing cities if only cities encouraged building.
Oh it's bad all over, and the zoning issues are huge. The constant fight over the tiny home village idea is also exhausting. Every time I see multi-story mixed use developments I get a little...
Oh it's bad all over, and the zoning issues are huge. The constant fight over the tiny home village idea is also exhausting. Every time I see multi-story mixed use developments I get a little happy because that is exactly what the Greater Seattle Area needs and it's happening around new and projected light rail hubs like Lynnwood. Better high-density planning in Seattle proper shouldn't feel so far away but nobody is willing to "lose the character" of their neighborhood.
I hope this ends up spreading to the rest of the US. NIMBYs here tried to rebel against low income housing being built in an area across the road from our neighborhood. But you know what's there...
I hope this ends up spreading to the rest of the US. NIMBYs here tried to rebel against low income housing being built in an area across the road from our neighborhood. But you know what's there now? An empty shack with some graffiti, surrounded by overgrown grass. But I'm sure the additional housing would bring down property values. (At least that's the narrative they try to sell.)
I live in Austin and just signed a lease to move to a newer, bigger, nicer apartment for about ~$100 less than I pay right now. It seems like prices were a bit lower in December than now, at least...
I live in Austin and just signed a lease to move to a newer, bigger, nicer apartment for about ~$100 less than I pay right now. It seems like prices were a bit lower in December than now, at least from my personal experience, but stuff is still cheaper than it has been since 2021.
From the article:
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Supply and demand, baby.
Hopefully this, as well as Minnesota’s experience, encourages more building.
Western Washington needs more building like this too, but NIMBYism is pretty rampant here. It seems like they keep trying to come up with solutions that involve anything but building more housing/density. It's a shame.
I will say though Western Washington has the added unfortunate factor of not really having the ability to expand outward. Mountains on the right, ocean on the left. Really need to expand density.
We could expand literally anywhere other than the I5 corridor, it feels like. Woodinville, Monroe, Maple Valley, Enumclaw, pick one and funnel some state money into the proper infrastructure and spread us out a tiny bit.
Won't happen due to urban growth boundaries in Washington state. I don't have the sources right now, but I think something like 75% of Seattle housing is still single-family. There's plenty of ability to build up density within the existing cities if only cities encouraged building.
Oh it's bad all over, and the zoning issues are huge. The constant fight over the tiny home village idea is also exhausting. Every time I see multi-story mixed use developments I get a little happy because that is exactly what the Greater Seattle Area needs and it's happening around new and projected light rail hubs like Lynnwood. Better high-density planning in Seattle proper shouldn't feel so far away but nobody is willing to "lose the character" of their neighborhood.
I hope this ends up spreading to the rest of the US. NIMBYs here tried to rebel against low income housing being built in an area across the road from our neighborhood. But you know what's there now? An empty shack with some graffiti, surrounded by overgrown grass. But I'm sure the additional housing would bring down property values. (At least that's the narrative they try to sell.)
Hope this trend spreads to other metros. The price of housing doubled in 5 years and it's killing me
I live in Austin and just signed a lease to move to a newer, bigger, nicer apartment for about ~$100 less than I pay right now. It seems like prices were a bit lower in December than now, at least from my personal experience, but stuff is still cheaper than it has been since 2021.