HOUSTON (KIAH) — Rent prices have cooled down some the last few months in some parts of Texas, but other cities are still at a high rate compared to last year as inflation remains high, according to the latest reports.
While Houston renters saw a 4.6% drop in rent from December 2021 to December 2022, good for fourth among the top 14 U.S. major metro areas, the median rent price is still at $1,745, according to a report by Redfin.
Houston’s rent median is still lower than the national median at $1,979, a difference of $234.
Austin also saw a decrease in rent, dropping 2.0% to a median of $2,270, which is above the national median.
San Antonio saw the largest increase among Texas metros with a 5.1% increase, but their rent median remains the second lowest among U.S. metros at $1,456.
Dallas renters saw a mild increase of 0.9%, which added to their median of $2,131, the highest in the state.
Nationally, rents rose 5% from a year earlier, which was the smallest increase in almost a year in a half, the report said. Rents fell 1.4% from a month earlier and were down 3.6% from the August peak of $2,053.
Persistently high rental costs, inflation and economic uncertainty continued to dampen rental demand at the end of 2022.