Houston Apartment Rents Increase In April, But Growth Lags Texas, U.S.

Houston multifamily rents increased for the fourth consecutive month in April, but are still down 0.7% from the same month a year ago, according to the latest rent report from Apartment List.

Rents across the city increased by 1.3% over the past month, ranking Houston as No. 75 on the nation’s 100 largest cities for month-over-month growth. Houston lagged behind the national month-over-month growth of 1.9%.

Houston’s market is also relatively soft compared with the rest of Texas. While year-over-year rent growth in April was negative in Houston, Texas recorded 1.7% growth, and the national average was 2.3%, according to Apartment List.

Median rents in Houston were $925 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,101 for a two-bedroom in April, the data showed.

When looking at individual cities in the greater Houston area, only the inner Houston area saw rents decline over the past year. The remaining nine cities all saw rent prices increase, reflecting the increasing popularity of the suburbs.

Sugar Land has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 5.2%. Next in line is Conroe at 4.3%, while Webster came in third at 4.1%. Pearland had the most expensive one-bedroom apartments in April, with a median price of $1,350. League City had the most expensive two-bedroom apartments, at $1,660.

Texas lifted capacity restrictions and the mask mandate in March, which has given a significant boost to Houston's local economy. That has trickled into some commercial real estate asset classes such as multifamily, with brokers and industry experts reporting this month that there has been a renewed interest in deal-making.