Michael Karlis
The Lofts on Main in San Antonio advertise “move in specials” to entice renters to lease an apartment.
The cost of rent in San Antonio has dropped nearly 3% from 12 months ago, rental marketplace Zumper revealed in its annual National Rent Report.
The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in San Antonio declined 2.8% in the past 12 months to $1,050, making the Alamo City the fourth most affordable major housing market in Texas, according to the study, released last week.
Even so, SA’s rental cost decline is far less impressive than that of other, more expensive Texas markets in the past 12 months. The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Fort Worth dropped 10.2% to $1,230, for example, making it the most significant price decline of the 100 markets covered in the report.
Apartment prices in Texas’ priciest market, Austin, declined 5.1% year-over-year, while prices in Dallas— the state’s second-most expensive market — dropped 5.5%.
The sudden decline in the cost of renting in Texas is due to the oversupply of new units since the pandemic, according to Zumper’s analysis. More than 100,000 new apartment units have been built in the Lone Star State this year, the company said.
“With the influx of new housing supply putting downward pressure on prices, renters in Texas now have the opportunity to secure amenity-rich apartments that may have previously been out of reach,” researchers wrote in the report. “By taking advantage of concessions that include offers of several months of free rent and waived deposits and fees, renters can now access premium living spaces at reduced costs.”
However, the trends in Texas are different from those shaping up nationwide. National prices for a one-bedroom apartment actually increased 1.7% in the past 12 months.
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