Austin, TX
Austin Built Housing. Then Rents Fell. – Davis Vanguard
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AUSTIN, Texas — As cities across the country struggle with rising rents and worsening affordability, Austin is emerging as one of the clearest real-world examples of what happens when local governments allow substantially more housing to be built: prices begin to ease.
After years of steep rent increases driven by rapid population growth, Austin’s median rent fell more than 16% between 2021 and 2026, according to a new analysis highlighted by Pew and reported by Smart Cities Dive. During roughly the same period, the city added housing at a pace that far outstripped most of the nation.
Between 2015 and 2024, Austin expanded its housing stock by 120,000 units — a 30% increase. By comparison, overall U.S. housing growth during that span was 9%, according to the report. Median rent in Austin is now 4% lower than the national average.
The data arrive at a time when housing debates in California and elsewhere often center on whether more supply can actually lower costs. In Austin, multiple independent reports suggest the answer is yes — though not without limits or remaining affordability challenges.
“Austin’s success serves as an important example of how regulatory barriers to building more housing are often varied and interconnected,” Pew’s report stated. “No single solution can solve a housing shortage, but Austin has taken multiple steps that have helped to unlock large amounts of housing supply in its market and reverse rent growth.”
Austin’s story did not begin with falling rents. It began with a boom.
The metro area’s population surged 33% from 2010 to 2020, creating intense demand for housing. During the prior decade, rents in Austin skyrocketed by nearly 93% from 2010 to 2019, according to the report. Then the COVID-19 era brought another wave of migration, strong job growth and additional upward pressure on prices.
But instead of freezing growth, Austin gradually changed its housing rules.
The city created a vertical mixed-use zoning category in 2007 that allowed more homes on sites while reducing minimum parking requirements by 60%. That policy alone led to more than 17,600 new units built or in progress as of 2024, according to Pew.
In 2015, Austin also made it easier to build accessory dwelling units, often known as ADUs, granny flats or backyard homes. The city reduced minimum lot size mandates and cut parking requirements. Between 2015 and 2024, Austin permitted nearly 3,000 ADUs, dramatically exceeding prior rates.
Then, in 2023, Austin became the largest U.S. city to eliminate parking requirements for nearly every type of property citywide, another move intended to reduce construction barriers and costs.
The city also paired deregulation with direct affordability strategies, including density bonuses and hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal bonds used to acquire land for new housing construction.
The combined result was a surge in new apartments and more competition among landlords.
Texas Tribune reported that builders in the Austin region obtained permits for 957 apartments per 100,000 residents between 2021 and 2023, outpacing other major metropolitan regions. That construction wave sent tens of thousands of units onto the market.
“When you introduce that many new apartments, your rental rates drop due to competition,” said Cindi Reed, director of MRI ApartmentData. “Supply and demand.”
That pressure has been visible across the market, not only in luxury buildings.
Pew found rents dropped 7% in apartment buildings with 50 or more units from 2023 to 2024 — the largest decline recorded in any large metro area. Rents in older, non-luxury buildings with lower-income renters fell about 11%.
Apartment List data cited by FOX 7 Austin similarly found Austin posted the fastest rent decline among comparably sized cities, with a 5.9% drop over the past year and a total decline of 20% from its 2022 peak.
The politics behind those changes also shifted.
Texas Tribune reported that Austin voters elected more pro-housing City Council members as costs worsened and frustration mounted. Councilmember José “Chito” Vela said the city’s older assumptions about limiting construction had failed.
“We were working under the premise for a couple of decades here in Austin that if we did not allow new construction, that would help preserve neighborhoods and hold down costs,” Vela said. “That has just been objectively shown to be false, and that the contrary approach is true.”
That statement captures a central divide in housing politics nationally. Many communities have long believed restricting new development protects affordability or neighborhood character. Austin’s recent experience suggests those restrictions can instead intensify scarcity and push rents upward.
Still, Austin is not a utopia, and falling rents do not mean housing is suddenly affordable for everyone.
The typical asking rent in Austin was $1,645 as of December, according to Zillow data cited by Texas Tribune. That is below recent peaks but still above pre-pandemic levels. Overall rents remain about 17% higher than before the pandemic.
Nearly half of renters in the Austin-Round Rock region remain cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of income on rent and utilities. Nearly a quarter spend at least half their income on housing and utilities, placing them in the severely cost-burdened category.
“Affordability has a technical definition, and it’s paying 30% or less of your income toward rent,” said Ben Martin, research director for Texas Housers. “And for many people in Austin, that was not the case before the pandemic, and it’s not the case now.”
Homeownership also remains difficult. According to the report, home prices in Austin have hovered above $500,000, and a household may need to earn more than $140,000 to afford a median-priced home in the region.
Falling rents do not erase deeper affordability problems. Austin shows that adding housing can ease price pressure, but it does not eliminate the need for subsidized affordable homes, stronger wages, tenant protections and other public policy tools.
Still, the city’s experience challenges a common assumption in housing politics: shortages do not improve when little gets built. Austin pursued multiple reforms at once, including zoning changes, parking reductions, ADU legalization, public financing for affordable housing and large-scale construction.
The result of those policies was that, after a major increase in housing supply, rents moved down.
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Red-hot Rowan Kelly came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance to extend the Gauchos season, but a thrilling comeback was not to be.
The UC Santa Barbara baseball team battled to the end, but fell to host Texas 6-4 in the Austin Regional final on Sunday afternoon.
“I think our guys gave a really good effort,” Checketts said. “Kellan’s start was outstanding, set the tone for us, gave us a shot. We came up short against a very good baseball team.”
UC Santa Barbara (40-20) held the lead through six innings behind a strong start from pitcher Kellan Montgomery and continued offensive production from Kelly. However, Texas (43-13), the tournament’s No. 6 national seed, scored four runs over the final three innings to secure the victory and advance.
Montgomery, a Santa Barbara native, delivered one of his strongest outings of the season. The right-hander retired the Longhorns in order in the first inning and held Texas scoreless through five innings while allowing only a handful of baserunners. Kelly provided early offense with a solo home run in the first inning, his second home run of the day after homering earlier against Tarleton State.
“I think just trusting myself and the guys behind me. The last couple outings haven’t really been what I wanted, so just not making it anything bigger than it is,” Montgomery said. “This is my first time in playoff baseball, so I’m just trying to enjoy every moment with a really special group. It was just trusting myself and the seven guys behind me.”
Texas broke through in the sixth inning, loading the bases before a sacrifice fly by Adrian Rodriguez and a two-out single by Ethan Mendoza drove in two runs and gave the Longhorns their first lead of the game at 2-1. Relief pitcher Van Froling entered and recorded the final out of the inning.
The Gauchos responded immediately in the bottom half. Consecutive walks by Liam Barrett and Kelly set the stage for a sacrifice bunt attempt by William Vasseur that resulted in multiple Texas throwing errors. Barrett scored on the initial errant throw, while Kelly later crossed the plate after another misplay, giving UC Santa Barbara a 3-2 advantage.
Texas regained control in the seventh inning. After a runner’s lane interference call erased a potential scoring play, Aiden Robbins hit a two-run home run four pitches later to move the Longhorns back in front. Texas added two more runs in the eighth, including one on an RBI double and another following a failed pickoff attempt, extending its lead to 6-3.
UC Santa Barbara narrowed the deficit in the bottom of the eighth. Kelly doubled off the top of the left-field wall and later scored as the Gauchos cut the lead to two runs. The inning ended with the potential go-ahead run still at the plate.
The Gauchos mounted one final threat in the ninth. Xavier Esquer and Cole Kosciusko opened the inning with singles, and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs. Kelly came to the plate with the tying run in scoring position, prompting Texas to make a pitching change.But Longhorn starting pitcher Luke Harrison made a rare relief appearance to record the final out and preserve the victory.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) received a $10,000 donation and 30 pet beds on Thursday.
The donation was from Robert Thiele, an Amazon delivery driver and owner of Clark Courier Services, which was named in honor of his late bulldog, Clark, who passed away this spring after a battle with cancer.
“I named Clark Courier Services after Clark because just like our drivers, he delivered smiles every single day. In a world full of best friends, Clark was the bestest,” said Thiele.
According to Amazon, the donated pet beds were given a second life through Amazon Re:Turn, which repurposes textiles from customer returns that could not be resold or donated.
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Amazon delivers $10,000 donation and pet beds to APA! (KXAN photo/Tim Holcomb)
As a surprise for Thiele, APA! unveiled memorial plaques dedicated to Clark on shelter kennels, which were inscribed with his name and the words “forever delivering.”
“Our Delivery Service Partners are local, small business owners embedded in the communities they serve. Robert’s been delivering in Austin for nearly seven years, and he’s not just moving packages. He’s showing up for the people, the pets, and the neighborhoods around him. That’s what this program is about,” said Emma Crowley, Amazon spokesperson. “Today, we got to give a little back to someone who has and will continue to give so much to others.”
Almost one year ago today, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in the losers’ bracket of their own regional, falling to the No. 3 seed UTSA Roadrunners in the 2025 Austin Regional.
For just a brief moment, it looked as if history was going to repeat itself once again, as the No. 3-seeded Tarleton State Texans got another chance at an upset, beating the Longhorns back in the regular season, 6-1, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
But today, history was not going to repeat itself — the team that the Texans saw in the regular season was a different animal than the iteration in the winners’ bracket. Under another furious day at the plate for Texas, and an outstanding night on the mound for Dylan Volantis, Texas was not going to fall into the losers’ bracket for a second consecutive year.
“Obviously that guy on the mound, he’s one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in college baseball for a reason,” said Tarleton State head coach Fuller Smith about Volantis. “We didn’t do a very good job, and I don’t know if we would beat anybody tonight, to be honest.”
Longhorns Look Unstoppable
If the past two days proved anything, Texas is playing its best baseball at the most crucial time of the season — in all three fronts of the game.
After a poor showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament by the Longhorns’ top three hitters. Aiden Robbins, Carson Tinney, and Anthony Pack Jr. have carried the brunt of the Texas offense in the postseason.
In the second inning alone, the trio rocketed three straight home runs to put the Texans down an early 6-0 hole, a deficit they would not come out of.
“I remember when I stepped on home plate [Anthony] Pack Jr. greeted me at home,” Tinney said. I looked at him, I was like, ‘It’s your turn now.’ And then two pitches later, he sent one out.”
Defensively, the Longhorns’ outfield, which struggled trying to find the right combination, has finally found the right grouping in Robbins, Pack Jr., and Dariyan Pendergrass.
Robbins and Pendergrass both were able to come up with deep fly ball grabs in the past two games. In the infield, missing core member Ethan Mendoza at second base, nonetheless, has yet to skip a beat.
“Pendergrass is a pretty veteran player, he’s been around the block a few times in college baseball,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Aiden has been a great teammate — Pack [Jr.] has improved greatly over the course of time.”
However, the real star of the regional so far has been the dominance on the mound from starters Luke Harrison and Volantis.
In the regional defining game, Volantis had no issue tossing up the Tarleton State order, who found great success against UC-Santa Barbara in the opening game. The sophomore pitcher lasted 6.2 innings, tossing seven strikeouts and allowing just three hits on the night.
With the giant lead by the time Volantis was pulled in the sixth inning, the Longhorns still have not used any of their premier relief arms in this regional.
“Those two innings were definitely helpful [in the SEC Tournament],” Volnatis said. “I definitely could have done the same without those two innings today.”
Texas now awaits a third rematch with Tarleton State or UC Santa Barbara and will not have to face either of their premier arms — notably Guachos pitcher Jackson Flora, a surefire first-round selection in this year’s MLB Draft.
The Longhorns will roll with Ruger Riojas tomorrow night and likely unload its best arms who have not seen action since the final regular season series against Missouri to seal up their first regional victory in three seasons.
“It’s always good to stay in the winner’s bracket and avoid those moments, but we haven’t won anything yet. We won two games,” Schlossnagle said. “I’m certainly excited about how we played to this point and yes, I’m glad we don’t have to play two tomorrow, but the tournament’s not over.”
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