Overview
- Austin added about 120,000 homes from 2015 to 2024, expanding its housing stock by roughly 30%, which the article notes outpaced the U.S. growth rate of 9%.
- By January 2026, the city’s median rent stood at $1,296, down from a December 2021 peak of $1,546 and slightly below the national median of $1,353.
- Rents in apartment buildings with 50 or more units fell about 7% from 2023 to 2024, described as the steepest decline among large U.S. metros in that period.
- Lower-cost, older Class C apartments saw rents drop roughly 11% year over year, indicating the sharpest relief in more affordable segments.
- The piece attributes these outcomes to zoning and permitting reforms begun in 2015 and a voter-approved affordable housing bond in 2018, noting rents declined even as the city added about 18,000 residents from 2022 to 2024.