Texans Are Finally Seeing Some Relief In The Price Of Rent

Here's some good news for you renters!

Rent Is Awful

I'm sure your rent is "too high". Everybody thinks their rent is "too high". I'm also sure that there is no one renting anything for a price that's "just right". It's one of those things that you're never going to be completely happy with. That said, rental rates were skyrocketing for a while.

Rip Off?

I had a house down the street from me that had CAUGHT ON FIRE and was damaged, it was given a slight makeover, but still looked rough and it was being rented for $1800 a month. Depending on who you are, that's either way too much or a steal (but you should've seen the house...yuck!). Myself, I would not have thought that house wouldn't rented for more than $1000-$1200 based on it's location and condition.

Who's To Blame?

I am certainly not in the business, but I think a lot of the fault lies in big businesses scooping up a lot of housing and renting it back for exorbitant rates. The house I mentioned earlier was owned by a very large rental company and not an individual. I think at this point some of these places have realized that they have reached a little too far for the stars and are backing off to something a little closer to reasonable territory.

Texans Are Spoiled

Some of this is also "sticker shock" by Texans. Rent in Texas is well below the national average so we may just be catching up. That has now slowed and the two primary examples are a 9% drop in rent in Austin and an 8% drop in San Antonio (I'd love to mention your town, but Texas has a lot of towns). Any drops at all could be a sign of statewide trends and possibly offer a little relief to renters. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.