Local Apartment Market Headed for a Slowdown

The apartment market in Central Texas is turning in renters’ favor, a new report said.

And it looks like the trend will hold for the foreseeable future as a wave of new complexes comes online, further reducing occupancy rates, the report said.

The region’s apartments were 91.4 percent occupied in the third quarter, down from 94.1 percent in the year-ago quarter and 91.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to Austin Investor Interests LLC, which tracks the market.

Although the drop from the previous quarter wasn’t big, it came in what is typically the strongest time of the year, when students move into campus-area apartments. It was only the second time in 15 years that occupancy has declined in the third quarter, the report said.

The average rent was $821 a month, flat from the previous quarter. Two experts are forecasting rents to decline 3 to 5 percent during the next 12 months.

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