Austin Rental Market Update – March 2008 and YTD

Homes in Austin are renting for 8% more than last year, on average. Average rent price for homes across the Austin Metro area was $1401 per month for March 2008 compared to $1295/mo the year before. The Median leased price remained about the same at $1200. Homes are renting fast this March. The average days on market was down to 37 days from 42 last year. The Median days on market was 26 compared to 28 days last year, which means half of the rental homes in Austin that leased through the Austin MLS rented in 26 days or less, and half took more than 26 days to rent.

The average rental price per sqaure foot is up almost 6% to $0.73 compared to $0.69 last year. The average size rental home in Austin was 1915 sqft and the median size was 1794 square feet.

The number of homes rented was down about 10%. More renters are renewing leases as fewer can qualify for home purchases than in the past several years. This is good for landlords. Note that our average rental rate of $1401/mo for March 2008 is still lower that the average of $1497/mo that renters paid in the year 2000 and the $1524/mo renters paid in 2001 before Austin rents tumbled for four years and bottomed out at $1235/mo in 2005. So we’re still trying to climb back to where we were 6 or 7 years ago.

Below is the data chart for March Rentals in Austin. Further below is a year to date chart, breakdown by city, and a historical graph of rental rates in Austin from 1999 through the end of March 2008. As usual, comments and questions are welcome.

Austin Rental Market Stats March 2008
Previous Month and Year Comparison
All MLS Areas - Houses Only

 

Feb 2008

Mar 2008

Mar 2007

Yr % Change
# Leased 563 594 659 -9.86%
Avg List Price $1,370 $1,412 $1,305 8.20%
Median List Price $1,200 $1,250 $1,200 4.17%
Avg Leased Price $1,362 $1,401 $1,295 8.19%
Med Leased Price $1,200 $1,200 $1,195 0.42%
Avg Size SQFT 1901 1915 1874 2.19%
Median SQFT 1755 1794 1769 1.41%
Avg $ per SQFT $0.72 $0.73 $0.69 5.87%
Avg Days on Mkt 39 37 42 -11.90%
Median Days on Mkt 27 26 28 -7.14%

Below is the Year to Date Comparison chart.

Austin Rental Market Jan-Mar 2007/2008 YTD Comparison
All MLS Areas - Houses Only

 
Jan-Mar 2008
Jan-Mar 2007
Yr % Change
# Leased 1736 1937 -10.38%
Avg List Price $1,391 $1,269 9.61%
Median List Price $1,248 $1,175 6.21%
Avg Leased Price $1,380 $1,260 9.52%
Med Leased Price $1,225 $1,150 6.52%
Avg Size SQFT 1921 1863 3.11%
Median SQFT 1797 1769 1.58%
Avg $ per SQFT $0.72 $0.68 6.22%
Avg Days on Mkt 39 49 -20.41%
Median Days on Mkt 29 35 -17.14%

Below is a breakout by city. Notice that Austin-proper still commands the highest rents. Renters willing to be further out can get a lot more house for their money.

Austin Rental Market Stats Jan-Mar 2008
Year to Date Breakdown by Austin-Metro Area Selected Cities
Houses Only

Austin
Round Rock
Buda/Kyle
Cedar Park
Leander
Hutto/Manor
# Leased 574 238 105 106 72 108
Avg List Price $1,547 $1,246 $1,166 $1,350 $1,139 $1,133
Median List Price $1,350 $1,195 $1,175 $1,250 $1,150 $1,095
Avg Leased $1,533 $1,237 $1,173 $1,330 $1,125 $1,128
Med Leased $1,325 $1,195 $1,175 $1,238 $1,148 $1,095
Avg Size SQFT 1868 2024 1855 2114 1799 1970
Median SQFT 1710 1878 1839 2048 1701 1917
Avg $ per SQFT $0.82 $0.61 $0.63 $0.63 $0.63 $0.57
Avg Days on Mkt 40 34 34 36 28 43
Med Days Mkt 28 26 28 30 22 32

Below is a historical graph of rental rates in Austin TX. The graph speakes for itself. We boomed through the end of the 1990s until the tech bust and 9/11 in 2001, then the market tanked for 4 years until we finally started seeing an upturn in rental rates again in 2006.

Austin Rental Market Historical Graph

4 thoughts on “Austin Rental Market Update – March 2008 and YTD”

  1. Steve-

    Have you done any analysis to determine what portion of the leased single family homes in Austin are seen by the MLS system (vs. private listings on craigslist, Chronicle, etc)?

    Thanks for all the great information,
    Tim

    Reply
  2. Felix,

    It depends on how high the demand is in your particular area. Location is the most obvious factor, but it truly depends on how many rentals are available. Also, what type of material is in the home? Is it carpet, hard tile, hard wood, etc?

    Thanks,
    Grant

    Reply

Leave a Comment