AUSTIN, Texas – Texas rent prices have been declining faster than the national average, a new report says, and one major city in particular is leading the charge. 

New rent price study

After a steep climb in nationwide rent prices following the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers have been either staying flat or slowly decreasing across the country year by year since then, according to a new study released by ApartmentList.com. 

Texas prices have been declining at an annual rate of about 2.9% on average since 2021, the report says. In comparison, the nation’s prices decreased by 1.5% as a whole in the past year. 

Austin sees sharpest drop

Austin has seen the nation’s fastest drop among comparably-sized cities, the report says, with a 5.9% decrease in the past year. It’s down a total of 20% since its peak in 2022. 

The report says the city is also significant for permitting new homes at the fastest pace of any large metro in the country, indicating the impact of new supply on softening rents. San Antonio is similar in this regard, the report says. 

Photo: Julius Shieh (FOX 7 Austin)

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Cities with fastest growth

The other side:

On the reverse, Virginia Beach, VA saw the fastest growth in the nation over the past year with 5.3%. 

Two Bay Area metros, San Francisco and San Jose, were next in line for fastest growth. The report says this is largely due to the AI boom and steep climb in tech jobs in the area. 

FILE-View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Marine Headlands with San Francisco, California, USA in the background. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

An Austin diner is launching its first location outside of Central Texas in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood this week, breathing life into an ample corner property amid mounds of cheddar hashbrowns and biscuits.

AUSTIN, Texas – Vice President JD Vance is making a fundraising swing through Texas. His first stop is in Austin on Monday. 

Why you should care:

Street barricades started going up around noon on Monday, March 23. The area in front of the Four Seasons Hotel, between Red River and Brazos, provided a protective buffer zone for a fundraising event featuring Vice President JD Vance.

The street closures may continue until Tuesday evening. The FAA has also issued a flight restriction notice over most of downtown Austin until Tuesday night. 

Why is JD Vance in Austin?

The backstory:

The dinner at the Four Seasons with Vice President Vance is described as the Republican National Convention fundraiser for the midterm election. 

Reportedly, individual tickets cost $50,000, with couples paying $100,000 and special access for couples costing a quarter of a million.

“Trips like this are absolutely critical because the midterms are critical,” said James dickey, the former chairman for the Texas GOP.

Dickey explained what big dollar donors are expecting to get from this high-profile meet-up.

AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN – MARCH 18: Vice President JD Vance speaks onstage at Engineering Design Services, Inc. on March 18, 2026 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. President Trump has appointed Vance as Vice Chairman of a newly formed Task Force to Eliminate

“I know what some of those donors are asking, which is, are you going to continue to fight? Are you going to continue to follow through on your promises? And what I hope and expect Vice President Vance and the administration will continue to say is what they have done, which we will keep our promises, we will execute the policies that will lead to a better, safer, more prosperous America,” said Dickey.

Software billionaire Joe Lonsdale reportedly is hosting the Austin event. He and other wealthy business owners, like Elon Musk, have now made Austin a destination for conservative politicians.

“Years ago, trips like this to Texas would only have happened in Dallas and Houston, then quickly came to San Antonio and Midland…It’s only fitting that now Austin takes its place among those other cities,” said Dickey.

Dig deeper:

But this realignment of fundraising territory, at least for now, isn’t about the Austin ballot box, according to SMU political analyst Mathew Wilson.

“The reality is that there’s a lot of money in Austin. We know that there has been a lot of tech entrepreneurship and Austin is increasingly important to the fundraising plans of people on both sides of the aisle, not just Democrats. 

Vance’s visit to Austin, followed by stops in Dallas, and later in Nashville, is in a way, a case of catch-up. Texas Democrats announced back in February they were launching a $30 million campaign targeting key races in the Lone Star State.

Wilson believes Republicans will be able to make up ground and will have enough money to compete.

“But certainly, I think the reason that Vance is here now is that Republicans don’t want to be caught flat-footed, and you can’t wait until the summer to raise this money. So the money is there for Republicans, but they have to raise it, and they have to make their case to their donors that they’re taking these races seriously, that they can win. And more to the point that Democrats are a legitimate threat. And I think that’s the message that the vice president wants to convey to Republican donors is we can’t take things for granted in Texas,” said Wilson.

This visit is also a big chance for Vance to meet face to face with potential donors for his expected White House bid. 

It gives him a head start of sorts on other possible contenders, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.