Although Austin rent rates in April 2016 were up 2.8% over those of April 2015, reports Apartment List's "Rentonomics" blog, they have decreased in the past month. According to the blog, which analyzes numbers based on Apartment List's listings and activity, overall rent in the United States was flat last month.
Rents also have also decreased in the past month in Denver, Los Angeles, and Houston. They increased in cities such as Nashville, Dallas, and Charlotte ("Rentonomics" speculates this is due to cost-driven millennial migration) and, predictably, cities on the Eastern Seaboard, in California, and in the Pacific Northwest.
This month, Austin didn't even make Apartment List's top 20 in highest rents in the nation. Texas rent growth over the past year (3%) exceeds the national rate (2.8%), but last month both Houston and Dallas' rates were down. Dallas rents continued to increase rapidly, and Plano rents increased most over the past year (6.9%).
• May 2016 National Apartment List Rent Report [Apartment List]
• May 2016 Texas Apartment List Rent Report [Apartment List]