Austin, TX

As rents across the country go up, Austin prices continue to fall – Austin Monitor

Published

10 hours ago

September 11, 2024

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As rents across the country go up, Austin prices continue to fall – Austin Monitor

Photo by Gabriel C. Pérez/ KUT News

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT

During the pandemic, Austin came to exemplify the story of housing across the country: Prices went through the roof. In 2021, the average monthly rent in the region rose 25 percent. Similar increases happened in cities in California and Arizona.

But that narrative has flipped. As tens of thousands of new apartments have opened in Austin and the rate of people moving to the city has slowed, rent prices have been falling. For more than a year.

According to new numbers from Zillow, Austin is now leading the country in declining rents. But this time few other large U.S. cities are following.

The typical monthly rent in the Austin metro is down nearly 4 percent compared to last summer. Rents in similarly priced cities – including Dallas, Phoenix and Atlanta – are rising. The average monthly rent in Austin is now anywhere between roughly $1,500 and $1,800.

In the early years of the pandemic, demand for apartments rose. Tens of thousands of people moved to the city because they could suddenly work remotely. Meanwhile, some residents already living here decided to leave shared living situations and find apartments on their own.

In response to the demand for housing, rent prices rose at an incredible pace. To builders, this indicated a need and a business opportunity: more homes.

“A lot of builders … they look at the demographics and they look at the job growth and they look at projections and they say, ‘You know what, this is going to be a good place for me to build,’” Kim Betancourt, vice president of multifamily research at mortgage-backer Fannie Mae, said. “This is what happened with Austin.”

In 2021, local governments in the Austin area issued permits to build nearly 51,000 homes, according to census data. While not every developer that receives a permit eventually builds, this represents a rate of permitting much higher than in other cities at the time.

Because construction takes several years, apartments permitted years ago are now opening. At the same time, the population surge that defined Austin in 2020 and 2021 has slowed.

More homes, fewer new people. Thus, rent prices began to fall last summer.

“It’s that building bonanza that helped to bring costs back down to earth,” Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow, said.

Divounguy stressed that “back down to earth” does not necessarily mean more affordable. In 2022, nearly half of all renters in the Austin area lived in housing they could not afford, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Economists predict that Austin’s falling rents won’t last beyond next year. Because of construction costs, developers are building less than they were just two years ago.

“It’s not gonna last long,” Betancourt said.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.

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Austin, TX

Central Texas high school football schedule for Week 3 area games

Published

3 hours ago

September 11, 2024

Press Room

Central Texas high school football schedule for Week 3 area games

UIL football district play gets underway this week.

Texas A&M Consolidated vs. Weiss and Stony Point vs. Vandegrift should draw plenty of attention, but there’s several good games on tap. Check out our reporters Rick Cantu, Colby Gordon and Caleb Yum for this week’s coverage.

Here is the Central Texas high school football schedule for Week 3:

Thursday’s Austin-area football games

District 25-6A

Vandegrift (1-1) at Stony Point (1-1), 7

District 12-5A DI

A&M Consolidated (2-0) at Weiss (2-0), 7

Non-district

Glenn (2-0) at Bowie (2-0), 7:30

Austin High (2-0) at Johnson (2-0), 7

New Braunfels Long Creek (1-1) at Crockett (0-2), 7:30

LASA (1-1) at Northeast (0-2), 7:30

Belton (0-2) at East View (1-1), 7

Friday’s Austin-area football games

District 25-6A

Vista Ridge (1-1) at Round Rock (2-0), 7

McNeil (0-2) at Westwood (0-2), 7

Cedar Ridge (0-2) at Hutto (1-1), 7:30

District 12-5A DI

Hendrickson (1-1) at Hays (1-1), 7:30

Anderson (2-0) at College Station (2-0), 7:30

Lehman (0-2) at Lockhart (0-2), 7:30

Non-district

Humble Atascocita (2-0) at Westlake (2-0), 7

Lake Travis (2-0) at Midland Legacy (0-2), 7

Dripping Springs (1-1) at Harker Heights (2-0), 7:30

Del Valle (1-1) at Leander (1-1), 7

Akins (1-1) at Manor New Tech (1-1), 7:30

Copperas Cove (1-1) at Georgetown (2-0), 7

Huntsville (1-1) at Cedar Park (1-1), 7

El Paso Eastlake (1-1) at Liberty Hill (1-1), 6

Rouse (1-1) at Waco Midway (2-0), 7

Wimberley (2-0) at LBJ (1-0), 7:30

McCallum (1-1) at Dallas Pinkston (0-2), 7

Pflugerville (2-0) at Fort Bend Christian (0-2), 7

Navarro (2-0) at Travis (1-1), 7:30

Bryan Rudder (2-0) at Connally (1-1), 7:30

San Antonio Wagner (0-1) at San Marcos (0-2), 7:30

Elgin (0-2) at Montgomery (2-0), 7

Bastrop (1-1) at Prestonwood Christian (1-1), 7

Burnet (0-2) at Academy (0-2), 7:30

Marble Falls (1-1) at Llano (1-1), 7

Taylor (0-2) at Lago Vista (1-1), 7:30

Salado (0-2) at Giddings (1-1), 7:30

La Grange (1-1) at Smithville (0-2), 7:30

Jarrell (2-0) at Caldwell (1-1), 7:30

Thrall (2-0) at Eastside (0-2), 7:30

Austin Achieve (0-2) at Florence, 7

Lampasas (2-0) at Killeen Chaparral (2-0), 7

Luling (1-1) at San Antonio Burbank (1-1), 7

Waco Riesel (1-1) at Thorndale (1-1), 7

Off this week: Cedar Creek, Manor

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Austin, TX

Texas committee hearing cut short due to livestream hack

Published

17 hours ago

September 11, 2024

Press Room

Texas committee hearing cut short due to livestream hack

AUSTIN, Texas – A hearing at the Texas Capitol was delayed on Tuesday, Sept. 10, due to the livestream being hacked.

The hack happened during the House Select Committee on Securing Texas From Hostile Foreign Organizations hearing.

Scott Braddock, from the Quorum Report, posted a video on X of the hack. The video showed images of cats smoking, racist messages, and videos of what appeared to be military exercises.

State lawmakers cut the livestream short and recorded audio of the remainder of the hearing.

Rep. Cole Hefner said the source of the attack is not yet known.

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Austin, TX

The 2024 Texas Marching Classic Is BACK on October 12 | LIVE on FloMarching – FloMarching

Published

1 day ago

September 10, 2024

Press Room

The 2024 Texas Marching Classic Is BACK on October 12 | LIVE on FloMarching – FloMarching

It’s back for another year! The 2024 Texas Marching Classic is coming to FloMarching LIVE on Saturday, October 12, 2024. The lineup of competing ensembles will include both Texas powerhouses and BOA National Champions from across the South, coming together for a competition that’s bigger and better than ever. Whether you’re streaming the show live on FloMarching or watching it in person at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin, TX, it’s going to be a jam-packed day of excitement and pageantry!

About Texas Marching Classic

The Cedar Ridge High School Band & Color Guard Program from the Round Rock Independent School District is proud to sponsor the Texas Marching Classic (TMC), a premier marching band competition in Central Texas.

The 2024 TMC competition will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024 at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin, TX. An optional Judges clinic will occur on Sunday, October 13, 2024.

TMC is organized by educators with vast experience as contest participants as well as hosts. The nationally renowned judging staff have experience as Bands of America (BOA) and Drum Corps International (DCI) adjudicators with a wealth of experience and knowledge that make TMC one of the competitions you won’t want to miss.

The TMC competition includes high school bands from across the state [of Texas] who compete during both Preliminary and Finals competitions. Divided into three classifications (1A-4A, 5A, 6A), bands will compete to win the title of Grand Champion. Bands will also compete in the captions of Individual & Ensemble Music, Individual & Ensemble Visual, General Effect, Percussion and Auxiliary. TMC offers state-of-the-art facilities, world-class adjudicators, and a unique scoring rubric to provide timely feedback with insight into all aspects of your performance.

Click here to see last year’s Preliminary Results and Final Results.

Also be sure to follow the Texas Marching Classic on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for the most up-to-date information concerning the Texas Marching Classic!