Austin Rents Continue to Rise, Making Home Ownership More Affordable

Rent prices in Austin, Texas continue their steady upward climb, rising 0.6 percent between June and July 2016 and up 3.7 percent year-over-year, according to Apartment List’s August 2016 Austin Rent Report. And with 71 percent of Austin renters planning to purchase a home in the future – well over the national average of 60 percent – rent prices may be a defining factor in making the move to homeownership.

The median rent for a one-bedroom in Austin is $1,200, and the median rent for a two-bedroom is $1,500. However, in the most popular areas, rent is even higher.

Downtown is the most expensive part of Austin, with the median two-bedroom costing $3,080, and the median one-bedroom costing $2,140. Downtown did see a 0.3 percent decrease in rents between June and July, reflected in these numbers.

The Zilker area is the second most expensive rental area. The median price of two-bedrooms is $2,360, and the median price of one-bedrooms is $1,780. This area is up 2.2 percent compared to July 2015.

Bouldin is third, with medians for one- and two-bedrooms at $1,840 and $2,000, respectively. North Burnet is fourth, with one- and two-bedroom medians of $1,530 and $1,940. North Burnet rents increased 5.5 percent between July 2015 and July 2016, the third highest increase among Austin neighborhoods.

What are the hottest areas?

North Loop had the highest year-over-year growth: a 12.2 percent increase over July 2015 to $1,400 and $1,630 for one- and two- bedrooms, respectively. The Hancock area is up 7.4 percent in the past year, with one-bedrooms at $1,030 and two-bedrooms at $1,800. West University is up 4.3 percent over last year, with the median one-bedroom at a price of $1,000, and a median two-bedroom at a price of $1,700.

See a visual of all the areas of Austin and their rent prices here.

Rent prices in Austin as a whole are above the Texas average, and, by all accounts, are continuing to rise. The median sold price for an Austin-area home in July 2016 was $285,000.