It is not surprising to many people that Austin has the highest apartment rents of any city in Texas, but what some may find compelling is that the Capitol City saw the largest, fastest, and highest jump in apartment occupancy this year compared to last.
According to A.L.N. Apartment Data, Austin’s apartment occupancy rate jumped 6.5 percent this January compared to last. That is more than double the increases in Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Houston within the same time frame.
“I think there's a lot of things playing in to it," said Eric Copper, a realtor with Keller Williams. "You've got the job growth. You've got a tight housing market. We also haven’t over-built like the rest of the country and the rest of the cities; major metropolitan cities in Texas."
A number of apartment renters in Austin told KVUE that their monthly rent has recently jumped up anywhere from $100 to $200.
“I moved to Austin five years ago and I was just sticker shocked from the beginning and it's just continually gone up ever since I moved here,” said Kristin Bigott, a resident living in a downtown high-rise. Bigott’s rent is about to go up $200 a month.
Experts say there are a number of factors contributing to the phenomenon. Austin’s quality of life and an increase in jobs are just two reasons.
“It's a demand issue. So goes jobs, so goes housing, and a statistic that just came out -- we've added over 15,000 new jobs over the past 12 months in Austin. That's up, I believe, by 2 percent,” added Copper.
Copper also added that with historically low interest rates, now may be the best time to invest in a home for those who are still renting because all signs are pointing to rent prices in Austin continuing to soar.
“It's forecasted that our population is going to double in the next 25 years. That's huge. We're on quite a trajectory here,” added Copper.
