Apartment rents continue to rise in San Antonio, driven by an increasing population and a growing shortage of lower end housing, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The tracking site 'ApartmentList.com' reports San Antonio rents are up 2.3% over the past year, to $1,050 a month for a median two bedroom apartment. That is still below the national average, but indicates a continuing rise in local rents.
Analyst Chris Salviati says the one thing that is causing the increase more than any other is the fact that San Antonio remains a magnet for people looking for work.
"When you have that many new people coming in for all these opportunities, that is going to drive up rents, if you're not increasing supply in tandem with that," he said.
San Antonio has routinely been named among the top cities in the USA for new apartment construction, and Salviati says that will continue as long as demand grows and apartments continue to be profitable investments for developers.
Also driving the increase in rents is changes in the single family housing market. Everything from local regulations to increased price of materials to a growing shortage of developable land continues to erode the local lower end new housing market, which helped keep housing prices depressed in the 1980s and 1990s.
"First time homebuyers are getting sidelined right now because there is simply not enough inventory available," he said. "This is keeping people renting who otherwise would be purchasing a home."
Another factor driving up rents is the fact that the image of apartment living has changed dramatically. In the seventies and eighties, you rented an apartment because you couldn't afford a house. Today, Salviati says renting has become a lifestyle choice.
"A lot of downtowns and urban parts of cities are being redeveloped," he said. "People also want walkable neighborhoods and a lot of amenities being close at hand, and being in an apartment allows for that."
Salviati sees no immediate let up in the number of new apartment complexes being built around the city, although he says there are indications that the 'luxury' apartmtent market may be about to max out.
The highest rents in Texas are in the upscale north Dallas suburb of Plano, followed by Austin, Arlington, Dallas, Ft. Worth and San Antonio in that order.Houston and Corpus Christi have lower rents than San Antonio, but that may change in both cities due to housing shortages caused by Hurricane Harvey.
The most expensive rents in the USA, by far, are in San Francisco, where a two bedroom apartment averages an amazing $3,080 a month, nearly three times the rent in San Antonio.