AUSTIN, Texas — Signs for rooms available are becoming harder and harder to find when looking for apartments.
"There's almost no vacancies," said Christian Haile. "It's been kind of tough out there."
Haile is an apartment locator in Austin and works for Sunroom Rentals. He keeps track of the market and helps others find apartments that meet their requirements. But last year made his job more difficult.
"So there was a huge shift in 2020. No one wanted to leave their houses or apartments, let alone find a new one to lease, so that really changed things up a lot," he said.
That meant fewer people moving but vacant spaces stayed empty. Then, as people started to move again, the availability dropped.
"That caused the prices to go way up," he said.
In 2021, the average cost for a one-bedroom in the city of Austin was $1,747, according to a rent report by Apartment Guide. That's almost a 30% (29.23%) jump from 2020.
It's something Haile has seen when looking for apartments.
"I think a big reason that we're seeing that is because of the lack of new apartment buildings that were built over the past year," he said. "I think that the expectation of the average renter is pretty far behind the reality of what the rates are right now."
It's something he's hoping will level off as new places are built, even if the city continues to grow.
"I don't think the area between San Antonio and Waco is going to stop growing anytime soon," he added.
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