Houston Apartment Rents Have Increased All Year, But Growth Lags Texas And The Rest Of The Country

Houston multifamily rents increased for the ninth consecutive month in September, up by 9.8% from the same month a year ago, but the city still lags other major Texas metros, according to the latest rent report from Apartment List.

Rents were up 1.5% in September from the previous month, signaling the return of multifamily demand and the sector’s ongoing recovery from the initial effects of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Over the past 12 months, Houston has absorbed more than 33,000 apartment units, according to recent data from ApartmentData.com.

However, those figures trail behind the rest of Texas, which averaged rent growth of 14.3% over the past 12 months. Individually, Austin rents grew 24%, Dallas rents grew 15.5%, and San Antonio rents grew 13.8%, Apartment List research found. Nationally, the average growth rate was 15.1%.

In September, Houston’s median two-bedroom rental rate averaged $1,190, below the national average of $1,275. But some cities within the greater Houston area have seen much bigger rent spikes, such as Pearland, which has seen year-over-year growth of 17.3%, and Sugar Land, which has seen growth of 16.4%. 

Apartment List tracks the rent prices across 10 of the largest cities within the greater Houston metro, and as of September, all of them have seen rental prices increase over the past year.

The most expensive city in the region is League City in southeast Houston, with a two-bedroom median rent of $1,900. Pearland was the second-most-expensive at $1,830, and Sugar Land was third at $1,770. Rosenberg had the least-expensive rent in September for a two-bedroom apartment, at $1,090.