RENT'S DUE

Houston rent prices jump almost 11 percent from 2022, report finds

Houston ranks 51 in the U.S. for highest rent, per the report.

Photo courtesy of Dolce Midtown Apartments

Apartment rent keeps going up in Texas, and in Houston the increase is nearly 11 percent more than last year, making it increasingly difficult to afford living in the city. That’s according to a new national rent report from online rental marketplace Zumper.

Despite rent increases showing a small slowdown month-over-month, overall prices are still on the high side from the previous year. For example, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Houston is $1,650 now, in March of 2023, which is a .60 percent increase from the previous month, but a nearly 11 percent increase from 2022 at 10.7 percent. The average rent for a one-bedroom is $1,350, which is a mere 3.1 percent increase month-over-month, but also a whopping 10.7 percent increase from last year.

The report looked at rental data from more than one million active listings in the top 100 cities in the United States to determine the rankings. Zumper ranked Houston the No. 51 most expensive rental market across the nation in February of 2023, up one place from the last report.

The report attributes these recent rental increase trends to the nation's rising inflation rate and unpredictable economy. Though unemployment is low (less than 3.4 percent), potential homebuyers are being sidelined with increasing interest rates. This is causing more competition among renters all over the country.

“Many markets continue to either normalize or correct following the steep increases in rent seen in 2021 [and 2022] in the zero interest rate [and] QE environment we went through,” said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades in the report. “With interest rates expected to rise further in 2023, we anticipate continued deceleration in rent rises as new household formation freezes or is at least postponed.”

Just four places down the list from Houston is Fort Worth, coming in as the No. 55 most expensive rental market, which is a five-place increase from a previous report. Average rent for a one-bedroom apartment increased over the last month, at $1,300, and is still 7.4 percent higher than it was last year. Two-bedroom apartments saw a much smaller year-over-year increase at 3.2 percent, with the average rent price at $1,600.

Five cities in the DFW metro area also made the list, as well as Austin (No. 25) and El Paso (No. 95). Most notably, Irving (No. 34) is experiencing a nearly 15 percent year-over-year rent increase for both one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The nine total Texas cities that made the list include:

No. 25 – Austin
No. 34 – Irving
No. 36 – Dallas
No. 40 – Plano
No. 51 – Houston
No. 55 – Fort Worth
No. 66 – San Antonio
No. 67 – Arlington
No. 95 – El Paso

The full data from Zumper’s National Rent Report can be found at zumper.com.

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The Boom Continues

Booming Houston-area ZIP among 5 fastest-growing new neighborhoods in U.S.

City of Fulshear/Facebook

Fulshear's 77441 ZIP code was the fourth-fastest growing U.S. neighborhood from 2014-2023.

As Texas' ever-growing population generates more demand among regional housing markets, one Houston-area ZIP code has seen more growth than nearly all other ZIPs in the state — and in the country.

Fulshear's 77441 ZIP code ranks No. 4 in RentCafe's new study that analyzed the 50 fastest-growing "new neighborhoods" in America "that barely existed a decade ago." Two more more Houston-area ZIPs in Katy and Richmond also made the cut.

The study reviewed housing inventory and population growth across 32,000 U.S. ZIP codes and narrowed down the search to the top 50 locales that experienced a 51 percent minimum surge in new housing units from 2014-2023.

Overall, Texas dominated the list with 17 of the nation's 50 booming new neighborhoods.

RentCafe determined the 77441 ZIP code in Fulshear saw a 391 percent surge in housing inventory in the last decade to keep up with the area's 482.7 percent population growth over the same period.

In 2014, there were just 5,647 residents living within the bounds of 77441, which stretches across both halves of FM 1093 as far west as Sidmonton and as far east as FM 1463 Rd. During that same year, there were only 2,163 housing units in the area, which has since spiked to 10,615 units as of 2023. The ZIP code now boasts a population of more than 32,900 residents, the study found.

"Fulshear is a good example of exurban spillover as it’s located within proximity of Houston’s major employment centers, like the Energy Corridor and Texas Medical Center," the report said. "In fact, Fulshear is about 30 miles from downtown Houston, which makes it a great living option for commuters."

Fast-growing ZIPs in Houston
77493 in Katy and 77407 in Richmond respectfully ranked as the 25th and 45th fastest-growing ZIPs in the U.S. over the last decade.

The report's findings revealed Katy has more than doubled its housing inventory to 20,552 units, up from about 8,200 units in 2014. The area's population has also more than doubled, from 24,577 to 62,264 residents as of 2023.

Richmond's population has surged 123 percent over the last decade, from 11,350 to 25,284 residents, and housing inventory soared 132.4 percent to keep pace with the growth. A recent boom in apartment construction is a major factor that contributed to the suburb's expansion, the report said.

The top 10 "newest" neighborhoods in the U.S., says RentCafe, are:

No. 1 – Chino, California (91708)
No. 2 – Timnath, Colorado (80547)
No. 3 – Colorado Springs (80927)
No. 4 – Fulshear, Texas (77441)
No. 5 – Ponte Vedra, Florida (32081)
No. 6 – Jersey City, New Jersey (07311)
No. 7 – Fort Worth (76177)
No. 8 – Colorado Springs (80924)
No. 9 – Prosper, Texas (75078)
No. 10 – Melissa, Texas (75454)

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