Sticker shock

These Houston suburbs see spike in apartment rents, says new report

Rents in apartments such as Brazos Ranch in Rosenberg are on the rise.

Renters, take note: While apartment rents in Houston are falling, apartment rents in some suburbs are rising. In fact, rents have gone up in five of the 11 largest cities in the Houston metro area.

A report released December 28 by Apartment List shows Houston posted the region’s biggest decrease in rents within the past year: 3.5 percent. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Houston stood at $900 a month; for a two-bedroom apartment, it was $1,070.

The picture isn’t the same in some of Houston’s suburbs, though.

In Rosenberg, rents increased 2.1 percent over a year’s time, according to Apartment List. Among the 10 Houston suburbs for which Apartment List has data, that was the fastest rent growth in the region. The median rent was $890 for a one-bedroom apartment in Rosenberg, Apartment List says, and $1,060 for a two-bedroom apartment.

Over a one-year period, rents also jumped in League City (1.9 percent), Pasadena (1.4 percent), Pearland (0.7 percent), and Tomball (0.4 percent).

Meanwhile, rents in Galveston dropped 3.5 percent over a year’s time. That was the largest decrease among the 10 suburbs. Median rent there is $890 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,130 for a two-bedroom apartment, according to Apartment List.

Rents also declined in Sugar Land (2.3 percent), and Webster (1.3 percent), Conroe (0.6 percent). In Baytown, rents remained steady.

Elsewhere in Texas, Richardson also saw a year-over-year decrease in median rents (4.8 percent). That was the biggest drop among the Dallas-Fort Worth cities tracked by Apartment List. Median rents in Richardson were $1,230 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,440 for a two-bedroom apartment.

By comparison, rents skyrocketed 5.1 percent in Arlington, representing the biggest one-year spike in DFW. Apartment List says median rent in Arlington was $1,010 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,230 for a two-bedroom apartment.

In Austin, median rents took a year-over-year slide of 5.4 percent, accounting for the biggest fall-off among major Texas cities tracked by Apartment List. Rent was $1,090 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,440 for a two-bedroom apartment. In San Antonio, median rents slipped 1 percent year over year, with a one-bedroom apartment going for $893 and a two-bedroom apartment for $1,083.

rent

what's new at the zoo

Houston Zoo welcomes Kirby, a newly-born Asian elephant

The Houston Zoo Asian elephant herd increased by one last week.

Photo by Kevin Kendrick/Houston Zoo

Kirby is a healthy baby girl elephant!

The Houston Zoo is going to need a very big rattle for its latest addition. On Friday, November 15 at 3 pm, the zoo’s amiable Asian elephant matriarch Shanti, 34, gave birth to a baby girl named Kirby. This is Shanti’s seventh baby with longtime pachyderm boyfriend, Thailand, 58.

Kirby weighed 314 pounds at birth, quite a bit smaller than her older sibling Nelson, born in 2020, and slightly larger than her big sister Joy, born in 2017. Shanti’s pregnancy lasted 21 months, a common length for Asian elephants but still the second longest gestation in the mammal class after their African cousins.

Within six minutes, Kirby was on her feet, and she was walking within a half hour. The birth took place in the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat cow barn, where Shanti and Kirby will spend several more days before being sent out to public viewing.

The Houston Zoo’s elephant breeding program has been a vital part of increasing the Bornean elephant population since it began in 2007. Portions of entrance fees go toward the work of Dr. Nurzhafarina “Farina" Othman, who specializes in local education and activism in Borneo to ease the tensions between humans and elephants. Elephants have been known to decimate crops leading to conflict. Othman’s work has helped landowners in Borneo fund solutions that keep the elephant population alive. The zoo’s support was partially responsible for doubling the Bornean population in 2018.

Elephants have been a part of the Houston Zoo since it was founded. In 2017, the zoo opened the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat, a massive new enclosure with walkways for visitor viewing and pools for the elephants to frolic in and escape the Texas heat. The exhibit includes everything from fountains to a specialized puzzle tree that elephants can blow into for treats.

The zoo has also been on the cutting edge of animal medicine. In June, 40-year-old Asian elephant Tess was given the first ever mRNA vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) 1A. Baylor College of Medicine pioneered this fight against a particularly deadly disease among elephants. All in all, it has been a big year for the zoo’s biggest residents.

houston zoo elephant