Rent and Houston’s Job Market
Two interesting news pieces this past week from Apartment List and Forbes.
Apartment List regularly tracks average rent in major metro areas and found that rents in the Houston area have increased by about .6 percent from last year meaning Houston’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.6 percent and the national average of 1.5 percent.
Rates aren’t increasing just inside city limits though, 8 of the 10 largest cities in the metro area have seen price increases.
Across the state, Austin (+3.2%), San Antonio (+2.3%), and Dallas (+2.0%), have seen more drastic increases than the Houston area has.
Despite the increases, Houston is still more affordable than most other large cities around the country.
In job news, the Houston is in the top four largest metro areas for job seekers according to the Bureau of Labor. According to the report, Houston and Dallas saw 3 percent and 3.5 percent non-farm job growth in the past year. While not in the top 4, the Austin area saw 2.3 growth over the year. Together, the three areas accounted for nearly a quarter of a million jobs over the year or as Forbes put it, “948 jobs added for every workday in a typical year in the Dallas, Houston and Austin areas.”
Keeping in tune with the trend of rental affordability and job growth, Houston City Council will be voting next week to reduce the city’s property tax rate to comply with the voter-impsoed property tax cap.
