Austin Texas Rental Market

[Jim Cummings]

Austin's Competitive Housing Market Keeps Residents In Rentals

AUSTIN (Marcus & Millichamp Real Estate Investment Services) – According to Marcus & Millichamp's Austin multifamily market report for first quarter 2018, steady migration and household formation are facilitating healthy demand for housing in the area.

Apartment developers completed 10,500 units in 2017, up from the average 8,000 units completed each year since 2013. From 2010 to 2013, an average of 3,000 apartments were completed each year.

Several years of robust deliveries pressured the vacancy rate, which rose 50 basis points to 5.9 percent in 2017.

Effective rents increased 1.9 percent year over year in 2017, rising at a slower rate than it did from 2010 to 2016. The average monthly rent for an area apartment is $1,200.

The homeownership rate in the metro has fallen for three consecutive years amid a tight single-family housing market. This pushed many new residents and would-be homeowners into rental housing.

For 2018, Marcus & Millichamp predicts that 8,300 units will be completed, and vacancy will rise 30 basis points to 2018. The report predicts a 2.3 percent increase in effective rents to $1,228 per month.