Austin’s nation-leading population growth further drives multifamily market demand.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

STRONG AUSTIN DEMAND CONTINUES
Despite some of the highest vacancies in the country among major markets, the Austin multifamily market has seen one of, if not the fastest rebounds in the country since the start of the year. Asking rents are now up more than 10% since the start of the pandemic, well ahead of the national average, after declining in 2020. The economic wins the market registered last year, specifically Tesla’s new Gigafactory, Oracle choosing Austin for its official headquarters, and BAE’s expansion, on top of robust growth by Amazon, are finally paying dividends, as the market saw some of the strongest demand for apartments in the first six months of the year compared to Austin’s history, reported CoStar.

AUSTIN’S ECONOMY RECORDS SOLID GROWTH
Austin’s unemployment rate remained at 2.9% in June). This compared with the state’s jobless rate of 4.1% and the nation’s rate of 3.6%. Austin employment increased at an 11.0% annualized rate, or by 10,728 net jobs, for the month of June. Growth was led by leisure and hospitality (up 46.6%, or 4,272 jobs), followed by manufacturing (up 24.0%, or 1,264 jobs). Government was the only sector to decline in the past month (down 0.8%, or 180 jobs). As of June, Austin payrolls increased 6.8% year over year. Austin home prices declined in June by 1.8%, resting at $520,233. Overall, Austin’s median home prices grew 9.6% over the past year.

MARKET OVERVIEW

INVESTMENT SALES TRENDS
Heading into the second half of 2022, investment activity in Austin’s multifamily market is ready for another record year. Multifamily investment volume during the first half of 2022 totaled almost $1 billion for class A, B, and C properties, according to CoStar estimates. The primary capital composition for buyers so far in 2022 was made up of 43% private investors, 37% institutional, and 11% private equity investors. For sellers, the majority were 69% private investors, 24% institutional, and 4% private equity investors. Among recent noteworthy transactions, Christopher Investment Co. acquired Troubadour, a 321-unit apartment building in Central Austin, from Wayfinder Real Estate. Troubadour was built in 2022 and is located at 3403 Harmon Ave., about 1 mile north of downtown Austin, close to the University of Texas at Austin.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR RENT GROWTH IS STILL CLIMBING
Overall average asking rents are $1,669 per month in Austin. The average rent for Class A properties is $1,922 per month, Class B is $1,611, and Class C is $1,248 per month. Like most markets, rent growth has been strongest in Austin’s suburbs. Round Rock, Southwest Austin, and Cedar Park have all seen nearly 25% rent growth year over year, ranking among the fastest-growing submarkets in the entire country. But Downtown Austin also stands out for its strong rent growth. Austin’s most expensive submarket has seen its rents rise about 15% over the past year, but with average rents of $3,300, the submarket’s nominal rent growth has been among the strongest in the nation. Average rents are up nearly $400 per month since the start of the pandemic, or about $4,500 in total for a 12-month lease.


Leta Wauson
Director of Research
[email protected]
tel 713 275 9618