Consistently Rising Houston Rents Still Lag Behind Other Major Cities

With 2021 drawing to a close, Houston rents have consistently risen every month this year, according to December figures from Apartment List.

Apartment rents have jumped 10.5% year-over-year, the site states, and 0.2% over the past month. Despite the healthy boost, Houston's growth still lags behind other cities, like New York, which saw a more than 30% hike, and Phoenix, which saw rents climb 29%. They also underperform the state average of 15.2% and fall well behind Austin, which saw 25.5% annual growth.

Within Houston itself, though all metro areas saw rising rents, the highest growth came in the suburbs. Sugar Land topped Houston submarkets with 16.8% year-over-year growth, while League City finished the year at the top of the chart for the most expensive rent in the metro area, with a median two-bedroom renting for $1.8K. Pasadena currently has some of the least expensive rent in the area, with a two-bedroom median rent of $1.1K.

When considering occupancy and other growth, separate data in December from ApartmentData.com shows that the Houston area has roughly 92% occupancy, with suburban markets, including Lake Houston, Tomball, Katy and Westchase, seeing the most growth over the past three months.

Over the past year, 82 communities have opened in the Houston area representing 21,606 units. There are 47 communities and 12,452 units under construction, with more than twice that number potentially on the way.

Houston has the lowest occupancy compared to other large Texas markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio at identical 93.5% occupancy. Famously pricey Austin still has the highest rental rate in the state, with the average tenant shelling out $1,554 a month.