Austin rent comparison: what $1,700/month gets you

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what one can rent for a set dollar amount in various Austin neighborhoods. Is one person's studio another person's townhouse? Let's find out! Today's price: $1,700.

Rental rates in Austin have been dropping (slightly, slowly)—especially when one looks beyond the most popular central city neighborhoods.

There are plenty of homes to be found in this week’s range. And while few are luxurious, most are serviceable, clean, workaday places in good shape, with the essentials for middle class living and little interest in ostentatious display.

We start in the Far Southwest suburban neighborhood called Sunset, where we find a quite nice, single-story, single-family home. This space has an open living-dining floor plan, as well as new exterior paint, vaulted ceilings, and carpet in bedrooms only. It also has a large master bedroom and bath with two vanities and two closets.

↑ 8005 Copano Drive, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, 1,451 square feet, $1,700/month.

↑ The Breakers on the Lake, 500 East Riverside Drive, three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, 1,096 square feet, $1,700/month. Location is a key attraction for this space, located on 3.5 acres of Lady Bird Lake in the East Riverside-Oltorf neighborhood. The complex also has amenities such as a pool, fitness center, and “clothes care center”—we’re not sure what the latter is, but there are also washer-dryer hookups in the apartments.

↑ 12702 Lamppost Lane, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, 1,730 square feet, $1,750/month. Located in North Austin’s Lamplight Village, this sleek home also has an open floor plan and has just been remodeled, updated, and painted.

Apartment living room with wooden floors, eclectic furniture

↑ 1507 Pease Road Apt. 5, two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, 1,000 square feet, $1,695/month. This darn cute, Colonial-style unit in the Old Enfield neighborhood has lots of features that translate as “charm,” including hardwood floors and pink-and-black bathroom tiles. Bonus: pets are allowed.

↑ Seven, 615 West Seventh Street, one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo apartment, 744 square feet, $1,675/month. A 14th floor unit in Downtown’s Seven building, this unit has the views, entertainment and shopping access, and swanky pool and deck that one expects from a luxury high-rise. Pets are allowed.