AUSTIN, Texas — It may be hard for many renters to notice, but rent is down in Austin, according to a new report by Zillow.
Rent fell more than 2.8% over the past year and just over 1% since September. This makes Austin one of the three cities in the report to see an overall decline in rent. San Francisco and Portland are the two other markets where rent is going down.
Meanwhile, on a national scale, rent went up 3.2% over the past year. Rents have risen the most over the past year in Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; Cincinnati and Chicago.
The report showed the typical rent in the U.S. is $2,011. That is up slightly from September’s annual change – the first time since the pandemic peak that annual rent growth has accelerated.
“The nearly two-year-long slowdown in rent growth may finally have come to an end in October,” the Zillow report said.
Rent had been slowing decreasing every month since a record high 16.1% in February 2022, but the typical U.S. asking rent increased in October, Zillow said.
“It remains to be seen whether this is the beginning of a recovery in annual rent growth back toward longer-term averages, or more of a stabilization. Indeed, despite the uptick in annual appreciation, typical U.S. asking rent fell slightly in October from September, ticking down by less than one-tenth of a percent, in line with usual monthly changes in pre-pandemic Octobers,” the report said.
October’s uptick in rent growth could be because in much of the country, monthly rent payments are cheaper than the mortgage payment from purchasing a home. For several years prior to the pandemic, the opposite was true.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.