The 3 Most Expensive Places to Rent an Apartment in Houston

HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – A study by RENTCafé.com, a nationwide apartment search website, offers two conclusions about large cities in Texas.

The rents are fairly cheap, and they don’t vary much.

“The peak rental season is coming to an end,” the study says. “And the average US apartment rent is winding down, too, as it experiences the lowest increase since February — just $2.”

That puts the nationwide average cost of a rental unit at $1,472 a month, as of August 2019.

And still, the largest cities in the Lone Star state generally remain short of that figure.

If you look hard enough, you can find some Houston districts with rents higher than the national average, the report says. “The most expensive neighborhoods in Houston are Midtown Houston ($1,957), The Museum District ($1,958) and Downtown Houston ($1,998).”

Otherwise, “Houston is remarkable as rents hover over the same amount for a long time. For August this year, they registered a $2 rise to $1,106. This is only $10 more than August 2018.”

Most of the Bayou City is pretty darn reasonable for renters, says RENTCafé.com. “The most affordable neighborhoods in Houston are South Park, $600/month; Heather Glen, $703/month on average and Hidden Valley, where the average rental unit goes for $703/month.”

“If you’re looking for other great deals, check out the listings from Woodglen Village ($703), Greater Fifth Ward ($721) and Golfcrest – Bellfort – Reveille ($731), where the asking prices are well below the average Houston rent.”

The folks at RENTCafé.com say Austin “remains the most expensive large city to rent in Texas, with average costs of $1,437,” just shy of the national mark.

The state capital has experienced the largest month-over-month rent increase of 0.7%, translating into a hike of $10. The city also boasts the largest annual growth, 6.21% or $84 more than in August 2018.

Rental price hikes in Texas metros read like a tally of racing snails: Austin, up 0.7%; Dallas, up 0.2%; Houston, up 0.2%; San Antonio, up 0.4% and El Paso, a Roulette winner at 0.0%.

Stats for Texas metros go something like this:

• Dallas welcomes renters with average rental prices of $1,236, a cost that has increased by just $3 since July.

• Fort Worth, however, saw the second largest jump in rent costs: $8, compared to July. The average rents here have reached $1,127.

• San Antonio rents have also inched up by $4 in one month. The average here is now $1,047, up $43 compared to the same time last year.

The report also finds that more than half of the most affordable small cities are in Texas.

Lone Star municipalities take three spots in the top five most affordable small communities for renters. Though Toledo, Ohio,($724) still has the cheapest rents among all US micros, Brownsville apartments ($727) almost made it to the top of the list after a 0.8% dip in rates. Next up are Amarillo ($741), where the average rent increased by 0.7%;Killeen ($754) and Independence ($757).

Low rental prices are not confined to Texas, says RENTCafé.com. Monthly leases in 65% of the nation’s renting mega-hubs are also below that American average.

Chicago pulled itself up after three months of sustained momentum in rental prices. Today, the average cost of leasing in the Windy City surpasses the $2,000 threshold, reaching $2,007 per month — $105 more than this same time last year.

Its neighbor to the south, Indianapolis ($876), is the nation’s most affordable renter hotspot, followed by Columbus ($941) and San Antonio ($1,047). Meanwhile, apartments in Los Angeles ($2,525) and Washington, D.C. ($2,227) are the second and third most expensive among the country’s largest renter cities after Manhattan.

Still, year over year, rates went up by less than $100 in 85% of the cities with the highest renter populations. Average prices in these hotspots climbed by as little as $10, as in Houston, and as much as $145, in Manhattan ($4,272), the only hub with an average rate above $3,000.

Average rents in the most affordable large cities are all under $1,000

The most affordable large cities all saw their rents increase or decrease by a minimal 0.1% in August. Oklahoma City ($774) is still the least expensive in the big leagues, and the eighth most affordable city in all size categories. Memphis ($807) and Indianapolis ($876) come in third and fourth, while Columbus closes the affordability ranking with its $941 rate.

Manhattan’s high average is still the most expensive in the nation, and is followed by the usual suspects: San Francisco, $3,706; Boston, $3,545; Brooklyn, $2,940 and San Jose, $2,790, which all posted rates above $2,000.

Sept. 17, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019