Study: Austin’s apartment market still hot, but cooling

Austin renters still have more competition for finding a new home than their peers across the nation, but data from a leading rental technology company shows the increases to the local housing supply are having an effect on the market. A report from RentCafe found that in 2023, apartments in Austin were leased two days faster than the national average, but the company attributed the growth of apartment supply to the city’s drop out of the top three most-competitive markets. Each Austin apartment has seven potential renters competing for it, compared to a national average of nine would-be occupants. RentCafe also found Austin’s occupancy rate was lower than the national average of 94 percent – most local research puts the number at 90 percent or less – and noted that 55 percent of local renters renewed their leases.