Austin Apartment Market is Strong

According to a recent article in the Austin American Statesman the Austin apartment market is strong and robust with “…apartments being snapped up by a tide of demand.” And just who are snapping up these new rentals? Why the 110 people moving to Austin every day that’s who! According to a recent study Austin has the fifth strongest demand for apartments in the nation. The 2014 apartment occupancy rate is reported at 95% but alas that is some bad news because the reported 2013 occupancy rate was 95.1%; I didn’t feel that. Apartment rents remain high, climbing 3.3% for the previous 12 months. This figure is down from the 4.5% for the same period a year ago. The January job growth for Austin is reported at 3% which is well above the national average.

I’ve been taking Friday classes at UT for 2 years and picked up The Daily Texas (the official UT rag) and read this Friday’s article “As Austin grows, off-campus rents rise”. That article quoted Zumper.com, an on-line apartment locating service, as ranking Austin having the 21st most expensive rents in the nation.

What this means for us investors in Austin area residential rentals is that our residential rental market is good – very good. With the stock market still swinging widely almost on a daily basis it is comforting to have the steady rent coming in coupled with a strong appreciation rate.