The Leasing Market in Austin is still holding steady, with minor gains over April a year ago. Property Managers I talk to tell me they are starting to increase rents very selectively in some of the stronger areas closer to downtown, and with some of the better homes. This is still a renter’s market, but the market is absorbing 55% more rental inventory than this time last year. If job growth in Austin remains strong as expected, and sales prices continue to climb, it’s only a matter of time before the rental market follows.
I’ve included more information this month than I normally do. As we head into the busiest leasing months of June, July and August, I thought it would be a good time to look at some Year-to-Date numbers as well as some additional breakdowns of areas.
First, let’s look at April 2006 compared to a year ago. Average rents are up 1.2% from a year earlier. Price per square foor is about the same, down $0.01, and the Days on Market is slightly better.
|
Apr 2005
|
Apr 2006
|
|
| # Leased |
417
|
649
|
| Avg List Price |
$1253
|
$1265
|
| Median List Price |
$1145
|
$1150
|
| Avg Leased Price |
$1235
|
$1250
|
| Med Leased Price |
$1100
|
$1150
|
| Avg Size SQFT |
1822
|
1859
|
| Median SQFT |
1656
|
1779
|
| Avg $ per SQFT |
$0.68
|
$0.67
|
| Avg Days on Mkt |
62
|
59
|
| Median Days on Mkt |
50
|
45
|
Next, let’s look at Year to Date leasing figures through April 30, broken down by different cities, MLS Areas, and number of bedrooms. Normally, what I report is a macro view of the entire MLS, but it’s helpful to see how different areas are performing.
|
MLS Area or City
|
# Leased
|
Avg $
Leased |
Avg
SQFT |
AVG $
Per SQFT |
Avg
Days |
| Austin |
1161
|
$1291
|
1728
|
$0.75
|
56
|
| Round Rock |
372
|
$1139
|
1972
|
$0.58
|
68
|
| Cedar Park/Leander |
253
|
$1129
|
1980
|
$0.57
|
65
|
| Hutto/Manor/Elgin |
154
|
$1023
|
1862
|
$0.55
|
82
|
| Kyle/Buda |
146
|
$1045
|
1800
|
$0.58
|
69
|
| Dripping Springs |
18
|
$1539
|
2188
|
$0.70
|
57
|
| Lakeway |
20
|
$1685
|
2061
|
$0.82
|
58
|
| Pflugerville |
207
|
$1123
|
1893
|
$0.59
|
74
|
| Westlake |
33
|
$2188
|
2347
|
$0.93
|
40
|
| Georgetown |
42
|
$1112
|
1749
|
$0.64
|
65
|
| Austin Locations BY MLS Area – Houses Only – YTD April 2006 | |||||
| E. C. Austin (Area 3,5) |
84
|
$1037
|
1266
|
$0.82
|
61
|
| S. Central Austin (6,7) |
41
|
$1344
|
1210
|
$1.11
|
38
|
| South Austin (Area 10) |
187
|
$1095
|
1469
|
$0.75
|
51
|
| SW Austin (Area SW) |
119
|
$1480
|
2118
|
$0.70
|
53
|
| West Austin (W) |
14
|
$1931
|
2250
|
$0.86
|
57
|
| Central Austin (1B,4) |
77
|
$1585
|
1446
|
$1.10
|
50
|
| NW Hills Austin (1A) |
8
|
$1959
|
2149
|
$0.91
|
49
|
| River North (RN) |
24
|
$2283
|
2881
|
$0.79
|
60
|
| Lake North (LN) |
21
|
$1162
|
1481
|
$0.78
|
65
|
| Area 1N (NW Austin) |
70
|
$1245
|
1748
|
$0.71
|
50
|
| Area NW (NW Austin) |
64
|
$1274
|
1939
|
$0.66
|
67
|
| N. Central Austin (2) |
38
|
$1078
|
1215
|
$0.89
|
54
|
| North Austin (2N, N) |
94
|
$1086
|
1593
|
$0.68
|
67
|
| Nrth East Austin (NE) |
63
|
$1130
|
1824
|
$0.62
|
63
|
| E. Austin (3E, 5E) |
40
|
$1079
|
1656
|
$0.65
|
71
|
| SE Austin (9, 11, SE) |
88
|
$995
|
1551
|
$0.64
|
64
|
| Austin by # Bedrooms – All MLS Areas – Houses Only – YTD April 2006 |
|||||
| 1 Bedroom Home |
15
|
$719
|
679
|
$1.05
|
57
|
| 2 Bedroom Home |
126
|
$1013
|
1020
|
$0.99
|
43
|
| 3 Bedroom Home |
1478
|
$1112
|
1637
|
$0.68
|
62
|
| 4 Bedroom Home |
751
|
$1360
|
2229
|
$0.61
|
67
|
| 5+ Bedrooms |
58
|
$1827
|
2997
|
$0.61
|
64
|
Homes in the city of Austin outperform rental homes in all other areas except Westlake and Lakeway, both immediately west of Austin. But as you can see, there are very few rentals in those areas.
Look at Hutto, Manor, Elgin (all suburban areas east and northeast of Austin) where all the cheap newer homes are being built. These take a long time to rent and receive the lowest rent price per square foot of anywhere in the Austin area. Investors are drawn out to these areas by lower purchase costs, but vacancy loss can easliy eat up the bargain price. I still think investors are better off staying closer to Austin, and buying existing homes in developed neighborhoods with better schools.
Finally, I threw in a breakdown of bedrooms.
If you haven’t already, also look at the 2005 Austin Rental Market Summary for more Austin rental market info.