Housing crunch
Houston renters see a tight squeeze with limited availability, says new report
Apartments are harder to find, says a new report.
Many looking to rent an apartment in Houston might be having a hard time — and for those wondering why, Rent Cafe offers an answer in its end-of-the-year report on Texas' most-competitive rental markets.
In the Bayou City, renters are mainly staying put, renewing their leases into 2023. According to Rent Cafe, more than 60 percent of renters and apartment dwellers opted to stay where they were. That's creating a tight squeeze for would-be renters; for every available apartment, there are, on average, 11 renters vying to live there.
Rent Cafe also indicates that apartments in Houston fill up within 35 days and the overall apartment market finds itself at 94 percent occupancy.
That's great news for rental property owners, even as it's likely causing stress for those looking to find new digs and aren't interested in home ownership.
Turns out, though, that Houston isn't actually the most competitive rental market in the state. That honor goes to El Paso, where there are 15 renters looking for every available unit. And available apartments in Sun City stay vacant for only 28 days.
In Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin, would-be renters are also finding things difficult. In Dallas, there are 14 renters for every available unit, and those who spy a vacant apartment better grab it fast. Rent Cafe says the units in Big D stay vacant for only about 30 days.
That's also the story in neighboring Fort Worth, which sees 13 prospective renters for every available unit.
In Austin, 12 prospective renters are vying for every available unit, and those units stay vacant, on average, for only a month before someone else signs a lease.
So, why can't Texans find apartments in Texas? Blame supply and demand. There are more people looking to rent than are places to rent. Even though Houston increased its share of rental units by nearly two percent this year and Austin upped its supply by nearly three percent, it's still not enough.
"Markets in Texas continued to attract out-of-state renters looking for better job opportunities and a more affordable lifestyle," read a summary of Rent Cafe's report.
The bright side to all of this? We're not Miami. The Florida city topped Rent Cafe's list of most-competitive markets, where 32 prospective renters are competing for every available unit.
Looks like the moral of the story is, Houstonians should be prepared to sign on the dotted line once they find that spot they love.
