Rents Increase in Austin for the First Time in Nearly Four Years

Austin's market-rate apartment supply has grown by nearly 97,000 units since the start of 2020. That means nearly 40% of Austin's apartment properties are less than six years old. It also means the 97,000 units delivered in the past six years alone would rank as the nation's 54th largest U.S. apartment market (between Hartford, CT and Omaha, NE's respective existing inventory). Everyone knows that Austin has been the epicenter of the national supply glut. But dare I say the Austin market may be turning a corner? Rents actually grew by 1.3% in 2nd quarter 2026. That's the first time rents have grown on a quarterly basis since fall 2022. Growth is not at all congruent, though. Class A rents were down 0.8% year-over-year, while Class B rents were down 3.9% and Class C rents are falling by 11.6%.  Still, even with the quarterly growth in rents, Austin's annual rent cuts the past few years have been substantial enough to put the market's average rent today ($1,425/month) just $120 above its 2nd quarter 2019 level. And in getting to that point, rents have fallen by about $400 off their 2022 peak. I still think Austin has some work to do (primarily in shoring up its occupancy rate) before we see meaningful year-over-year movement in rental rates. But again, it feels like the Sisyphean effort in absorbing all this supply may finally be reaching an end. Or at least a point of equilibrium.